HBO has officially greenlit GAME OF THRONES

Game of Thrones has been picked up by HBO for a 10-episode first season (including the pilot), as the currently exploding state of the Internet may have informed you. Shooting will resume in Northern Ireland and Morocco in June 2010 and will last the rest of the year. Transmission is very tentatively scheduled for Spring 2011.


Obviously, excellent news. The one slight surprise is that the first season will be 10 episodes long rather than the previously mooted 12. However, given that the pilot covered almost one-eighth of the book by itself, it is possible that it was felt that 10 hours was unnecessary to cover the whole book. It is also possible that if the series is a huge hit, it will be easier to get the 12-14 episodes A Storm of Swords will need to be done justice for the third season.

Links:
Maureen Ryan's Watcher blog for The Chicago Tribune.
The Hollywood Reporter Live Feed.
Variety.
The New York Times.
Alan Sepinwall's blog.
Sci-Fi Wire.
IGN.
GRRM's initial reaction.
The BBC.
The Irish Times.

To summarize: