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June 16, 2015

The Grantland Network’s Unstoppable Game of Thrones Content Suite

6.16

Image courtesy of Grantland

HBO’s original series Game of Thrones, airing Sunday nights from April to June, has certainly garnered a cult following. Based on the series ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ by George R. R. Martin, the show just finished its fifth season, with season finale that’s absolutely filthy with cliffhangers, many concerning fan-favorite characters. The fervor of Game of Thrones fandom more than warrants online discourse. For myself (and some of my loyal G-chat friends), there’s only one place to go on the Internet for excellent Game of Thrones content: The Grantland Hollywood Prospectus blog.

The Grantland blog network, an ESPN-backed website started by the recently departed Bill Simmons (who, incidentally, is rumored to be heading up a big project with the now-unemployed Jon Stewart) has the most sophisticated content suite that maybe I’ve ever witnessed (or maybe it’s just that I am in love with Andy Greenwald). Their coverage is nuanced, varied and above all, fun. Most significantly, they publish  Game of Thones-related content nearly every business day (when the show is running, of course). Behold!

The 5 Days of Grantland Game of Thrones coverage:

Monday: The official Episode Recap, in which television critic Andy Greenwald recapitulates (didn’t remember that recap is an abbreviation, did you?) each episode, is the most traditional feature Grantland publishes. Grantland also publishes its Hollywood Prospectus podcast, a discussion of pop culture (television, music and movies) between Andy Greenwald and fellow Grantland writer Chris Ryan, which dedicates around 20 minutes to Game of Thrones each week.

Tuesday: Ask the Maester, a Q&A blog feature penned by a sports writer Jason Concepcion, who has read all the Song of Ice and Fire books. This feature is especially useful for people who haven’t read the books: Concepcion is a master (or maester, as the advisers in the Game of Thones universe are called) of the books’ content, and clearly articulates some of the more esoteric elements of the plot and history.

Wednesday: The ‘Game of Thrones’ Book Symposium, a tag-team blog post with two Grantland writer’s who have read the books, offering more in-depth discourse about book theories.

Thursday: The Watch the Thrones podcast, a roundtable discussion hosted by Greenwald and Ryan, in which they sit down with Jason Concepcion and Grantland editor Mallory Rubin (respectively) for a deep dive on the week’s episode.

Friday: Game of Thrones Precap, a more lighthearted, sometimes zany round-up of what the writers are thinking will happen, humorous gifs, leftover comments, and general flotsam and jetsam.

The craziest part of this editorial calendar? Little of the content is duplicative, and none of it is boring. To be fair, Game of Thrones — as a text and a television program — has the depth and breadth of narrative to sustain nearly constant commentary. Could we do a five-day-per-week Real Housewives of New York City content suite? Probably not before (although I think writer Brian Moylan should try).

Aside from the truly stunning, insightful coverage and general excellent quality of writing, the best part about Grantland’s Game of Thrones material is that they’re always adding to it: whether its a Game of Thrones Shootaround or blog post about Kit Harington’s future career. They even hosted a live taping of their penultimate Watch the Thrones podcast in NYC!

By mining its culture and sports writers alike for appreciation for/expertise in Game of Thrones, Grantland has created what I think is the blogosphere’s most comprehensive content suite surrounding a hit television show, so much so that I think I’ll miss Grantland’s coverage just as much as (if not more than) actual Game of Thrones.