HBO has released two new Game of Thrones featurettes for the upcoming second season of the popular show.
We’ve been seeing a lot of promo material from the cable channel lately – including featurettes, trailers and teasers – all of which makes the build up to the season premier feel more like the ramp up to a major tent-pole film release than a television drama. Of course, HBO need the publicity, since the show is and will only be available to HBO subscribers.
The first featurette offers some footage and interviews about what it’s like being an extra in the show, with lots of great behind-the-scenes shots of peasant wardrobes, piles of fake leather shoes, and rubber plate-mail.
The second includes some clips of interviews with several of the stars, including fan-favorites Peter Dinklage, who plays Tyrion, and Emilia Clark, who plays the far-away rival Daenerys.
The second season of the show, based on book two of the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin, presents the showrunners with more challenges than the first season, mostly in the variety of sets, as is discussed briefly in the second video.
The first book took place primarily in two major locations, with a few scenes on the road or in one or two distant castles. This season will see the characters begin to disperse across the seven kingdoms following the events of the first season’s finale. There are a lot of fresh locations, as each of the major characters from the first book becomes the center of a separate story arcs, with their own sets and requirements. There are also several entirely new realms which will now have to be involved, as well as several formerly minor characters who become major players in season two.
Game of Thrones season 2 begins on April 1, 2012, and will air each Sunday for ten episodes. The first season is currently being replayed on Sunday evenings. HBO subscribers can also catch up on the HBO Go website.
