It only took one episode to convince HBO to renew “Game of Thrones.” Sunday’s third season premiere “Valar Dohaeris,” directed by Daniel Minahan and written by showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, achieved series high ratings for the fantasy drama, which averaged 4.4 million viewers live at 9pm and 6.7 total across the night’s three plays.
READ MORE: ‘Game of Thrones’ Makes a Case for Why We’ll Still Watch Some Shows Live
The premium network has yet to announce how many episode the just-confirmed fourth season will run, but the current third season, like the previous two, is made up of 10 episodes. Based on the ongoing series of novels by George R. R. Martin, “Game of Thrones” encompasses an ever expanding ensemble of characters in its tale of clashing clans and kingdoms on the continent of Westeros.
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