HBO Renews GAME OF THRONES for Fifth and Sixth Seasons

HBO has renewed GAME OF THRONES for a fifth and sixth season, it was announced on Tuesday by Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming.

"GAME OF THRONES is a phenomenon like no other," noted Lombardo. "David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, along with their talented collaborators, continue to surpass themselves, and we look forward to more of their dazzling storytelling."

Based on the bestselling fantasy book series by George R.R. Martin, GAME OF THRONES is an epic story of treachery and nobility set on the continent of Westeros, where summers and winters can last years, and only the lust for power is eternal. The Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning series launched its ten-episode fourth season Sunday, April 6 (9-10 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO, with other episodes debuting subsequent Sundays at the same time.

Cast regulars for the fourth season of GAME OF THRONES include: Emmy and Golden Globe winner Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Charles Dance, Aidan Gillen, Jack Gleeson, Kit Harington, Diana Rigg, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Alfie Allen, Jerome Flynn, Conleth Hill, John Bradley, Gwendoline Christie, Liam Cunningham, Stephen Dillane, Natalie Dormer, Iain Glen, Kristofer Hivju, Sibel Kekilli, Rose Leslie, Rory McCann, Michael McElhatton, Iwan Rheon and Carice van Houten.

The season four premiere of GAME OF THRONES on Sunday, April 6 (9-10 p.m. ET/PT) was watched by an average of 6.6 million viewers, making it HBO's most-watched program since the finale of THE SOPRANOS in 2007 (11.9 million viewers). The premiere improved 52% over last season's premiere and 23% over last season's finale. GAME OF THRONES added an additional 1.6 million viewers from the 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. replays, for a gross audience of 8.2 million viewers for the night. Season three of the series had an average gross audience of 14.4 million viewers per episode.

Season four credits: The executive producers of GAME OF THRONES are David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Carolyn Strauss, Frank Doelger and Bernadette Caulfield; co-executive producers, Guymon Casady, Vince Gerardis and George R.R. Martin; producers, Chris Newman and Greg Spence.