HBO is launching a new series in April called Game of Thrones. The television series is based off a series of books called A Song of Ice and Fire, written by New York Times best selling fantasy novelist George R.R. Martin. Despite the fact Martin has only written through the fourth book of seven, HBO took on the production and has made mind blowing headway since the original rumors of an adaptation. Game of Thrones has the potential to be the best fantasy series to ever hit television with HBO at the reins. The fantasy within the story is subtle and dark, always lingering in the shadows of a cutthroat medieval land called Westeros. The character complex is harder to figure out than the politics between the Seven Kingdom’s battle for the iron throne. Only one thing is certain, “When you play a game of thrones you win or die. There is no middle ground” (George R.R. Martin). Hit the jump to learn more about Game of Thrones, view the show tease, and see behind the scenes production footage.

Here is the description from the book jacket of A Game of Thrones (via Amazon):

“Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.

Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.”

The complexity of “plots and counterplots” that are mentioned in the book jacket are exactly what this narrative entails. To be honest, when I heard that George R.R. Martin agreed to having his series adapted to television, I was skeptically disappointed. I have read through book 3, A Storm of Swords, and even knowing that HBO was backing the series made me uncomfortable as a die hard fan of the books.

There is something threatening about having a fantasy world you create in your mind (while reading) being brought to life on the big screen or television. Not to mention, fantasy is hard to do on television. The success rate of fantasy series in general is unnerving considering shows like Xena-Warrior Princess, Legend of the Seeker, and BBC’s Merlin. My inner nerd always wants to love shows like this, but they are the definition of “cheesy.” Another problem is everyone’s imagination is different. On screen, the faces you put to characters are suddenly different, and the world you thought you knew so well changes at the sight of a screen shot. Lastly, the details that make a narrative so complex while reading, must be left out in certain areas of film production. Everything cannot be covered, or the film would be twenty hours long. The inevitable missing detail in Game of Thrones was my biggest concern about the TV series, like many book followers.

However, my skepticism about the Game of Thrones production has subsided in many ways. Perhaps, I can put some of your minds to rest as well. The producers of the show are (X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Troy) David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. George R.R. Martin signed on as a Co-Executive Producer for the series. I think the collaborative vision between the three has given Game of Thrones original fantasy substance. The show has been filmed in over fourteen locations across the world to make up the fantasy world of Westeros. From the arctic north to the isolated desert south, and everything in between, the locations for the imaginary land are spectacular. Exactly as I imagined. The production footage after the character information does a good job highlighting the show locations and art production (via HBO‘s Winter-is-coming).

Futhermore, the producers have spent a lot of time perfecting the characters to make them seem real and unpredictable, as they should be. The cast is brilliant, but to describe the whole cast and their relationship with one another would be an entire article within itself. The cast is mostly British, which makes sense given the book’s closely related medieval roots. I will explain a few main actors involved, and where they are from in the story, but if you want to know the face of every character cast thus far, look here for the full cast.

Ned Stark, the Lord of Winterfell in the North, will be played by Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings, Golden Eye). Bean usually plays “the bad guy” in films, but Ned is one of the better people in Westerlos. Michelle Fairey (Harry Potter, The Others) has been cast as Catelyn Stark, Ned’s wife. Ned has one bastard child and four children with Catelyn, two boys and two girls, that live at the House of Stark.

The current king is Robert Baratheon played by Mark Addy (Robin Hood, A Knight’s Tale). He is wed to Cersei Lannister, which Lena Headey (300) will make a perfect fit.

The Lannister House is essentially the rival house to everyone else in the realm. Tywin Lannister is the ruler, whom Charles Dance has been cast. Jaime Lannister is his son played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, (Black Hawk Down, Kingdom of Heaven) and twin brother to Cersei. Peter Dinklage (Death at a Funeral) will be playing the witty imp, Tyrion Lannister, also son of Tywin.

Across the Narrow Sea, Emilia Clarke has been cast as Daenerys Targaryen. Harry Lloyd will play her evil brother Viserys Targaryen. Lastly, Jason Momoa (Stargate Atlantis) has been cast as the strong Dothraki leader, Khal Drogo.

For more information from HBO about the production process, a look at some major characters, and short interviews look at this video.

My only lingering concern as a fan of the books is George R.R. Martin has not even finished writing the series. It would be a shame to see a man at Martin’s age (62) get wrapped up in the television production process and never finish writing the books. Not only would this lead to angry book fans, but angry television fans as well who would be left with no ending to the unforgettable story.

Nonetheless, I am thrilled for the series premiere. For now, everything will have to be taken in stride by the book fans, because on April 17, 2011 “Winter is coming” at full force to HBO.

What do you think? Will this fantasy series be the first solid success on television?