Game of Thrones (season 6)

The sixth season of the fantasy drama television series "Game of Thrones" premiered on HBO on April 24, 2016, and concluded on June 26, 2016. It consists of ten episodes, each of approximately 50–60 minutes long. Much of the season is made up of content not yet found in George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, although a significant amount of material was used from "A Feast for Crows", "A Dance with Dragons" and the upcoming sixth novel "The Winds of Winter", which Martin outlined to the show-runners. The series was adapted for television by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. HBO ordered the season on April 8, 2014, together with the fifth season, which began filming in July 2015 primarily in Northern Ireland, Spain, Croatia, Iceland and Canada. The entire season cost over $100 million to produce.
The season follows the continuing struggle among the noble families of Westeros for the Iron Throne. The Starks and allies defeat the Bolton forces in the "Battle of the Bastards", culminating with Sansa Stark feeding her tormenting husband, Ramsay Bolton, — who had murdered his father, Roose; his stepfamily; and Rickon Stark — to his starving hounds, and Jon Snow is proclaimed the King in the North. Tyrion rules Meereen while Daenerys is held captive by the Dothraki. At King's Landing, Margaery capitulates to the High Sparrow, who becomes more powerful by influencing King Tommen. But on the day of Cersei's trial, Cersei destroys the Great Sept with wildfire, killing the Sparrows, her uncle, and the Tyrells. Tommen commits suicide, and Cersei is crowned Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Ellaria Sand and Oberyn Martell's daughters kill Doran and Trystane Martell and seize control of Dorne. Arya Stark finishes her assassin training, escapes Essos, and returns to Westeros to resume her revenge list. Bran Stark becomes the Three-Eyed Raven, escapes the White Walkers, and returns to the Wall. Daenerys Targaryen burns the Khals, emerges from the flames of their temple alive, and the Dothraki pledge her their loyalty. Yara Greyjoy fails to be chosen queen of the Iron Islands, so she and Theon ally with Daenerys. Varys secures an alliance for Daenerys with Olenna and the Dornish.
"Game of Thrones" features a large ensemble cast, including Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, and Kit Harington. The season introduced new cast members, including Max von Sydow, Pilou Asbæk, and Essie Davis.
Critics praised its production values, writing, plot development, and cast. "Game of Thrones" received the most nominations for the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards, with 23 nominations, and won twelve, including that for Outstanding Drama Series for the second year in a row. U.S. viewership rose compared to the previous season, and by approximately 13% over its course, from 7.9 million to 8.9 million by the finale.
Episodes.
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Cast.
Guest cast.
The recurring actors listed here are those who appeared in season 6. They are listed by the region in which they first appear:
Production.
Crew.
The writing staff for the sixth season includes executive producers and showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, producer Bryan Cogman, and Dave Hill. Author George R. R. Martin, who had written one episode for each of the first four seasons, did not write an episode for the sixth season, as he was working to finish writing the sixth "A Song of Ice and Fire" novel, "The Winds of Winter". The directing staff for the sixth season was Jeremy Podeswa (episodes 1 and 2), Daniel Sackheim (episodes 3 and 4), Jack Bender (episodes 5 and 6), Mark Mylod (episodes 7 and 8), and Miguel Sapochnik (episodes 9 and 10). Sackheim and Bender were first-time "Game of Thrones" directors, with the rest each having directed two episodes in the previous season.
Writing.
With the end of the fifth season, the content of the show has reached the plot of the latest novel in Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, "A Dance with Dragons". Season 6 director Jeremy Podeswa said in August 2015, "Right now in season six, what we're shooting currently isn't based on anything in the book. It's fully based on discussions the writers have had with George Martin, because the series has now surpassed the books in terms of what's available." Actress Natalie Dormer, who plays Margaery Tyrell, later added that the show's writers "know where it's got to go and what [George Martin]'s intentions for the characters are. But they are just filling in the gaps."
The season premiere starts off right where the fifth season ended. A plot from "The Winds of Winter" regarding a traveling theater troupe located in Braavos that stages a play called "The Bloody Hand", about the events that have taken place in King's Landing since the beginning of the series, is included in the sixth season.
Filming.
Filming for season six began in July 2015 and ended on December 17, 2015. The budget for the sixth season increased compared to the previous seasons as each episode cost over $10 million, totaling over $100 million for the full season and setting a new high for the series. The season filmed in five different countries: Northern Ireland, Spain, Croatia, Iceland, and Canada.
Like the previous seasons, a large amount of production took place in Northern Ireland, mainly in Belfast and on the Causeway Coast, including film locations in the Binevenagh, Magilligan area, which was used to film scenes for the Dothraki Grasslands, and Larrybane Quarry and Ballintoy Harbour, both used for scenes in the Iron Islands. For the siege of Riverrun, the small village of Corbet was used. As in previous seasons, some of Castle Black was set at the abandoned Magheramorne quarry. 
From September 3 to October 23, 2015, the show also filmed in Spain, specifically in Girona, Navarre, Peniscola, and Almería. Some filming locations in Spain included the Castle of Zafra in Guadalajara, the Bardenas Reales Natural Park in Navarre, the Alcazaba in Almería, and the Castle of Santa Florentina in Canet de Mar.
In August 2015, HBO announced that for the first time since season 1 the show would not be filming any scenes in Croatia. The Croatian city of Dubrovnik has stood in for King's Landing since the beginning of season 2; nearby cities such as Klis, Split and Šibenik have been used to depict various other locations. Contradicting the statement by HBO, cast of the show were seen in costume in Dubrovnik in October 2015.
Only a very small portion of the season was filmed in Canada (north of Calgary, Alberta): the scenes featuring Jon Snow's wolf, Ghost (played by animal actor Quigly). However, some of the special effects were created at Montreal's Rodeo FX studios which has won Emmy Awards previously for its work on the series.
Casting.
The sixth season saw the return of Isaac Hempstead Wright as Bran Stark, Kristian Nairn as Hodor, Ellie Kendrick as Meera Reed, Gemma Whelan as Yara Greyjoy, and Rory McCann as Sandor "The Hound" Clegane, who did not appear in the fifth season. Clive Russell, Tobias Menzies, Patrick Malahide, Richard Dormer, and Paul Kaye also returned to the show as Brynden Tully, Edmure Tully, Balon Greyjoy, Beric Dondarrion, and Thoros of Myr after not appearing since the third season. Jonathan Pryce as the High Sparrow was added to the series main cast after appearing in a recurring role in the previous season.
Across the Narrow Sea, Melanie Liburd plays a Red priestess from Asshai who is in R'hllor's service. At the Reach, House Tarly is introduced, with Freddie Stroma joining the cast as Samwell Tarly's brother Dickon Tarly, a character who was mentioned in the novels but has yet to appear in them. Other members of House Tarly that were introduced were Randyll Tarly, played by James Faulkner; Melessa Tarly, played by Samantha Spiro; and Talla Tarly, who was portrayed by Rebecca Benson.
Veteran actor Max von Sydow was cast to play the Three-Eyed-Raven, who is training Bran. The character was previously played by Struan Rodger in the fourth-season finale, "The Children". David Bradley confirmed in August 2015 that he would be returning to the show as Walder Frey after last appearing in the third-season finale, "Mhysa", but he did not confirm when he would be returning. After the second official trailer was released, it was confirmed that Bradley would appear in the sixth season. Danish actor Pilou Asbæk joins the show as Theon Greyjoy's uncle, pirate captain Euron Greyjoy. Ricky Champ played Gatins, an outlaw who is a part of a band using religion to justify extorting the people of the countryside. A young Ned Stark was portrayed by Sebastian Croft in a flashback scene.
The sixth season also included a traveling theater troupe located in Braavos that stages a play called "The Bloody Hand", about the events that have taken place in King's Landing since the beginning of the series. Essie Davis and Kevin Eldon joined the cast in this theater troupe, portraying actors playing Cersei Lannister and Ned Stark, respectively, while Richard E. Grant was cast as the troupe's manager. Members of Icelandic indie band Of Monsters and Men appear as the musicians of the Braavos theatre group.
Music.
The soundtrack for the season was digitally released on June 24, 2016, and was released on CD on July 29, 2016. The album reached on the "Billboard" 200, on Soundtrack chart and on the Canadian Albums chart on its digital release, with the track from the season finale "Light of the Seven" reaching on "Billboard"s Spotify Viral 50 chart.
Reception.
Critical response.
The season received highly positive reviews, with special praise directed at the episodes "The Door", "Battle of the Bastards", and "The Winds of Winter". On Metacritic, the season (based on the first episode) has a score of 73 out of 100 based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes, the sixth season has a 94% approval rating from 35 critics with an average rating of 8.28 out of 10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Bloody and captivating as always, "Game of Thrones" plunges back into the midst of a world touched by grief, dread, and precarious sexuality."
Ratings.
The season finale had 8.89 million viewers on its initial airing on HBO, up ten percent from the previous season's finale, which was the most-watched episode prior to this episode. The average gross viewing figure per episode for the show, which includes streaming, DVR recordings, and repeat showings, reached over 25 million for this season, and it was described as the last consensus show on television. The figure went up by 25% compared to the previous year, and viewing figures of the show for this season on its on demand services HBO Now and HBO Go went up by over 90%, which were new records for HBO. Almost 40% of viewers of the show watched this season on HBO digital platforms. The show also broke records on pay television channels in 2016 in the United Kingdom with an average audience of more than five million across all platforms and in Australia with a cumulative average audience of 1.2 million viewers.
 Live +7 ratings were not available, so Live +3 ratings have been used instead.
Accolades.
For the 32nd TCA Awards, the series was nominated for Program of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Drama. For the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards, the series received 23 nominations, the most of any series. It won 12 awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for "Battle of the Bastards", and Miguel Sapochnik for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for "Battle of the Bastards". For the 7th Critics' Choice Television Awards, the series won for Best Drama Series.
Release.
Broadcast.
The season was simulcast around the world by HBO and its broadcast partners. In some countries, it aired the day after its first release.
Marketing.
On November 23, 2015, a teaser poster displaying Jon Snow was released on the official "Game of Thrones" Twitter account. A 41-second teaser trailer was released on December 3, featuring Jon Snow from the fifth season episode "Hardhome", many of the previous seasons' highlights, and voice-overs from Max von Sydow as the Three-Eyed Raven and Isaac Hempstead Wright as Bran Stark. The first footage from the season was revealed in a new promotional video released by HBO highlighting its new and returning original shows for the coming year on December 6, 2015, showcasing scenes involving Daenerys Targaryen, Ramsay Bolton, Cersei Lannister, and Tommen Baratheon. On December 28, 2015, "Entertainment Weekly" released its "Exclusive First Look" issue, featuring an image of Bran Stark, who had shorter hair and was noticeably older from his last appearance in season four. 
On January 22, 2016, three teaser trailers were released, with each teaser depicting the banners of the houses Targaryen, Lannister, and Stark and which included voice-overs by Iwan Rheon as Ramsay Bolton, Jonathan Pryce as The High Sparrow, and an unknown character speaking in Dothraki. On February 11, 2016, HBO released 28 exclusive photos from the sixth season, picturing several of the main characters during the season and confirming the fates of Theon, Sansa, and Myrcella, while Jon Snow was notably absent. HBO released a teaser trailer on February 14, 2016, that shows the faces of a number of living as well as deceased characters such as Ned Stark, Robb Stark, Catelyn Stark, Joffrey Baratheon, Tywin Lannister, Stannis Baratheon, Ygritte, and, controversially, Jon Snow in the House of Black and White. On February 24, 2016, HBO released 16 character posters of both deceased and alive characters and two official posters featuring various characters. 
A behind-the-scenes video of the sixth season was released on February 29, 2016, focusing on camera operators working on the show. The first official trailer for season 6 was released on March 8, 2016. Another behind-the-scenes video was released on March 22, 2016, focusing on the creative process of prosthetics, specifically the White Walkers. The video also contained new footage of White Walkers from the sixth season. On March 24, "Entertainment Weekly" revealed a series of new issues titled "Dame of Thrones", featuring six of the female lead characters from the series and a focus on the sixth season. On March 26, 2016, new photos from season six, in addition to a new promo named "March Madness" with new footage, was released by HBO. After the screening of the season premiere, "The Red Woman", HBO released a second official trailer. As well, in July 2016, HBO released a "blooper reel" online: a video of outtakes from season 6.
"After the Thrones".
"After the Thrones", a live aftershow in which hosts Andy Greenwald and Chris Ryan discussed episodes of the series, aired on the stand-alone streaming service HBO Now on the Monday following each episode of the show's sixth season.
Home media.
The season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on November 15, 2016. The set includes extra background, behind-the-scenes material, and deleted scenes.
Copyright infringement.
The sixth season of "Game of Thrones" was the most-pirated TV series in 2016.