While HBO has only officially renewed Game of Thrones through season six, the network has reportedly moved quickly to make sure that nearly everyone can return for a potential season seven. They have also made the actors happy with significant pay raises for the future seasons.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the main cast members had only been signed through season six, as that’s as far as HBO has officially green-lit.
The network confirmed back in April that the show was renewed for two additional seasons, including next year’s season five and the following year’s sixth season. However, to make sure everyone is onboard if a season seven happens, the actors’ new contracts have an option for that year added.
GoT has a tiered salary system, with the “A” tier headlined by Emmy winner Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. The “B" level includes Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams and Natalie Dormer, who are also expected to see raises for the next three seasons.
Celebrity Net Worth estimates that Dinklage was paid $150,000 per episode before the raise, so that amounts to $1.5 million per 10-episode season.
HBO did not comment for the report.
GoT is already the most popular show in HBO’s history, surpassing The Sopranos during season four. It averaged 18.6 million viewers across several platforms and is also a strong performer in foreign markets.
These actors getting an option for a seventh season doesn’t mean that their characters will actually survive seasons five and six. George R.R. Martin will probably kill off one or two just to surprise us. But, then again, showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss did say that season five will include the series’ first flashback.
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