Beverly Hills -- Two of HBO’s biggest original series franchises in Deadwood and Game Of Thrones are expected to return in 2019, HBO president Casey Bloys said Wednesday morning.
The David Milch-created Deadwood, which aired between 2004 and 2016, will return as a movie and will begin production in October, Bloys said during HBO’s Television Critics Association press tour executive session at the Beverly Hilton.
Bloys said Milch will return for the movie, with the series' original stars returning to reprise their roles. The original Deadwood series starred Timothy Olyphant and Ian McShane.
“Its been a logistic nightmare getting all the cast members’ schedules lined up," he said. "We're thrilled to finally get it done."
Bloys also said that the final season of Game Of Thrones is expected to return to the network during the first half of 2019.
Bloys also addressed recent comments made by WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey to employees regarding the need for HBO to get “bigger,” saying that no one has approached the network about changing its programming strategy under its new owners at AT&T.
“No one has talked about diluting the brand or increasing the volume to the point where we lose quality control,” he said. “John has been very complimentary about what we do … what I heard was more investment in our programming, which was music to my ears.”
Bloys also congratulated video streaming service Netflix on beating HBO in receiving a industry-high 112 Emmy nominations, adding that he’s proud of the breath and depth of the network’s 108 nods.
“Getting four less nominations will not change the type of programming we produce,” he said.
