sales of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels CNN epic fantasy Ian Bogost Peter Jackson The Lord of the Rings film trilogy Harry Potter films gateway drugs The Wheel of Time The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Amazon Studios Neil Gaiman Good Omens American Gods fantasy second season A Song of Ice and Fire The Lord of the Rings Time
Although Game of Thrones was initially dismissed by some critics, its success has been credited with an increase in the fantasy genre's popularity. The series's popularity led to increased sales of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels (republished in tie-in editions), which remained at the top of bestseller lists for months. On the eve of the second season's premiere, CNN said, "after this weekend, you may be hard pressed to find someone who isn't a fan of some form of epic fantasy" and cited Ian Bogost as saying that the series continues a trend of successful screen adaptations beginning with Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003) and the Harry Potter films (2001–2011) establishing fantasy as a mass-market genre; they are "gateway drugs to fantasy fan culture". The show's success led to the commissioning of several fantasy television series, including The Wheel of Time and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power by Amazon Studios. According to Neil Gaiman, whose novels Good Omens and American Gods were adapted for television, Game of Thrones helped to change attitudes towards fantasy on television, but mainly it made big budgets for fantasy series more acceptable.
