GOING LARGE
NEXT YEAR, THE SMALL SCREEN WILL BE HUGE, WITH A BONANZA OF ENORMOUS TV SHOWS SET TO SHAKE THINGS UPN
ILLUSTRATION JAMES DAWE
EPIC FANTASY
At the height of its popularity, it was reported that each season of Game Of Thrones cost a whopping $90 million. Amazon’s Lord Of The Rings series, though, makes that figure look like spare change: they’ve spent $465 million on what is officially television’s most expensive season ever. That money will very much be on screen: Amazon’s Jennifer Salke says it will ensure “a huge, world-building show”. Spectacle awaits. Still, Thrones is hardly skulking off into the sunset: it’s back too, with prequel House Of The Dragon. Set 300 years before its predecessor, it follows House Targaryen as they head towards the Dance Of The Dragons —a bloody, brutal civil war. Meanwhile, with Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman finally hitting screens, The Witcher prequel Blood Origin on the way and the TV return of Warwick Davis’ Willow, 2022 will see fantasy reign supreme.