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  ==Production==
  HBO originally optioned the rights to ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' in 2007, at which time David Benioff and D. B. Weiss were identified as the project's writers and executive producers. The first and second drafts of the pilot script, written by Benioff and Weiss, were submitted in August 2007, and June 2008, respectively. While HBO found both drafts to their liking, a pilot was not ordered until November 2008, with the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike possibly delaying the process.
  Benioff and Weiss served as main writers and showrunners for the first season. They contributed eight out of ten episodes, including one co-written with Jane Espenson. The two remaining episodes were written by Bryan Cogman and ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' author George R. R. Martin.
  Tom McCarthy directed the original pilot, but much of this was later re-shot by Tim Van Patten as the pilot was reworked into the first episode of the complete season. Van Patten also directed the second episode. McCarthy is still credited as a consulting producer for the series' first episode. Brian Kirk and Daniel Minahan directed three episodes each, and Alan Taylor directed the final two.
  Before ''Game of Thrones'' both Benioff and Weiss worked in film, and were unfamiliar with working on a television show. This resulted in several first-season episodes being about 10 minutes too short for HBO, forcing them to write another 100 pages of scripts in two weeks. Due to lack of budget the new scenes were designed to be inexpensive to film, such as two actors conversing in one room. Benioff and Weiss noted that some of their favorite scenes from the first season were the results of the dilemma, including one between Robert and Cersei Baratheon discussing their marriage.