Entertainment

The Next Project From The ‘Game of Thrones’ Creators Is Copping Serious Backlash

HBO announced a new show called 'Confederate'

During the latest—nail-biting—episode of Game of Thrones on Sunday night in the US, a protest was happening at the same time on Twitter.

Countless Twitter users questioned the development of a new show from the Game of Throne’s creators, titled Confederate.

The show’s premise? As Rolling Stone reports, Confederate reimagines America if the south had won the Civil War and slavery had remained legal.

According to HBO: “The story follows a broad swath of characters on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Demilitarized Zone — freedom fighters, slave hunters, politicians, abolitionists, journalists, the executives of a slave-holding conglomerate and the families of people in their thrall.” 

The activist and former lawyer behind the viral #OscarsSoWhite hashtag, April Reign, expressed her deep concerns about a show depicting the horrors of slavery, as imagined by two white men.

Game of Thrones creators
‘Game of Thrones’ showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss

“What confidence should we have in two gentlemen who can’t talk about race on their own show and have had seven seasons to introduce significant characters of color?” Reign told The Hollywood Reporterabout Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and Dan Weiss.

Many others weighed in on Twitter:

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https://twitter.com/rgay/status/887798204703559680

Confederate producer Malcolm Spellman told Vulture the show will bring about an important discussion of race in America. “It’s deeply personal because we are the offspring of this history,” he explained. 

HBO added in a statement: “The project is currently in its infancy so we hope that people will reserve judgment until there is something to see.”

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