SPOOKS to stop after series 10

Kudos have decided to end their espionage drama Spooks after ten series on the BBC and around the world, aiming to go out on a high rather than let the show dwindle.

Jane Featherstone, production company Kudos:

"I feel very sad about it. It was a very difficult decision to make. But we didn't want to get to the point where the BBC said, 'We don't really want another one,' we wanted to kill it off in its prime."

Ben Stephenson, BBC Drama Commissioning Controller:

"Kudos created a groundbreaking series in Spooks ten years ago that challenged convention with its topical, fast-paced, contemporary style. I hope fans will tune in this September to see what promises to be a fittingly high-octane, thrilling finale."

It’s a laudable decision to end something before it turns stale, which happens more regularly on the BBC because the network's not driven by advertising. Spooks has notoriously killed many of its leads and replaced them with new blood, and this reinvention is credited with keeping the show hovering around the 6m viewers mark for so long. Lisa Faulkner, Matthew Macfadyen, Rupert Penry-Jones, Hermione Norris, and Richard Armitage all played characters who met their end during the show's run.

Spooks is a BBC show I never got into, though. Back when it started I didn't have much faith in contemporary BBC drama, and the show felt like a kneejerk reaction to Fox's smash-hit 24—given the basic premise and similar use of split-screens (which was seen as quite radical in the early-'00s). And, while I understand Spooks benefits from real-world political inspirations, isn't constricted by a real-time format, and can tell multiple stories over its run, I was more entertained by the ruthlessly compelling adventures of CTU's Jack Bauer. Even when 24 fell into self-parody towards the end, Spooks never appealed to me as an alternative. I perhaps missed some great homegrown TV, but you make your choices.

The final series of Spooks will apparently focus on counter-terrorism boss Harry Pearce (Peter Firth), the only original character left on the show. After ten years escaping the icy fingers of death as his colleagues dropped dead around him, is Harry's time finally up?

SPOOKS returns to BBC1 for its tenth and final series in the autumn.

E4 recruit CHARLIE'S ANGELS

Channel 4 have splashed out on ABC's Charlie's Angels remake, to air on their youth-oriented digital channel E4. The action-drama stars Minka Kelly, Annie Ilonzeh and Rachael Taylor as three sexy women recruited by an anonymous millionaire called Charlie to fight crime in Miami.

Charlie's Angels premieres in the US on 22 September (the 35th anniversary of the original TV classic). E4 haven't announced when they will launch the series in the UK.

FX renew LOUIE, WILFRED & IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA

FX have renewed their orders for Louie, Wilfred and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. This is particularly good news for Wilfred, their remake of an Australian series about an introvert who sees his attractive neighbour's pet dog as a gauche man in a dog-suit.

I wasn't sold on Wilfred's pilot, you may recall, but it's developed into one of the most interesting and bizarre comedies around. It did that by not lazily emphasizing the obvious "man-as-dog" jokes and instead focusing on its off-kilter tone and some twisted ideas. Plus Elijah Wood and Jason Gann are great, both individually and as a weird double-act.

Meanwhile, Louie has grown in popularity in its second season. It's another comedy I enjoy, although I sometimes think people daren't criticize it because it's widely seen as a masterpiece. Sometimes it's not especially funny, very indulgent, and the pacing drags, admit it. Sometimes. But it's still a comedy that's definitely pushing barriers and doing something unusual, uncomfortable, and memorable.

And as for It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia... well, I've never seen it, so I have nothing to say. But FX have ordered another two seasons, despite the fact season 7 hasn't even premiered yet, so that's an astonishing show of faith. Any fans out there?

Lara Pulver joins SHERLOCK as Irene Adler

Lara Pulver has joined the cast of Sherlock for series 2, which is currently filming. She will be playing Irene Adler, the famous "love-interest" of Sherlock Holmes, for the episode "A Scandal In Belgravia".

This is great news. I've been a fan of Pulver since her wonderful Disney villain-esque turn in Robin Hood a few years ago, and hated watching her get wasted in True Blood as Sookie's fairy godmother. Adler will undoubtedly be a much juicier role for her, full of sparkling dialogue. I hope she has good chemistry with Benedict Cumberbatch's sleuth, too. Incidentally, Pulver's also joined Spooks for its tenth series, so her star's clearly on the rise.

I guess this kills the internet rumour that Jekyll's Michelle Ryan was being lined up by co-creator Steven Moffat as Irene Adler! What do you make of Pulver's casting? A great choice, or are you concerned?

SHERLOCK series 2 returns in early-2012 on BBC1 with three new 90-minute episodes: "A Scandal In Belgravia", "The Hounds Of Baskerville" and "The Reichenbach Fall".

BBC America producing original series COPPER

BBC America are finally dipping their toe into producing original television shows, rather than show imported programming from the UK and repeat US shows like Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica. Rejoice!

Their first project will be a New York crime drama set in 1860 called Copper, following an Irish immigrant who works as a policeman. The series is therefore covering ground Martin Scorsese explored in his movie Gangs Of New York, which told the story of how the Big Apple was born, with particular attention on the unruly "Five Points" Irish neighbourhood.

Tom Fonzana (Oz, Homicide) will be writing and producing the 10 episodes, which are planned for summer 2012. Considering the network, one would assume this will be aired on the regular BBC shortly after its US premiere.

What do you think? Is BBC America original programming a win-win situation? American audiences get something homegrown that adheres to BBC ideals, while British audiences get something expensive with US production values? I wonder if British writers/directors will be able to hop across the pond and have fun working on an expensive BBC America show? If so, will there be a mass exodus of UK talent to the States? Or will BBC America recruit from within—meaning, really, that there's no difference between an original BBC America show and whatever another US cable channel like AMC is making?

PAN AM lands on the BBC

The upcoming ABC airline series Pan Am has been bought by the BBC for transmission on BBC2.

The period drama, created by Jack Orman (ER), concerns the lives of the pilots and air hostesses working for the world-famous airline in 1963.

It stars Christina Ricci (The Addams Family), Mike Vogel (Cloverfield), Margot Robbie (Neighbours), Karine Vanasse, Michael Mosley (Scrubs) & Kelli Garner (The Aviator).


Janice Hadlow, Controller of BBC2:

"Pan Am captures the excitement and optimism of travel in the 1960s, when being an air hostess was the most glamorous occupation you could possibly have. With a love story at its heart and a great unfolding plot that hints at the danger and mystery to come, viewers will be in for an exciting but turbulent ride."

Sue Deeks, Head of Programme Acquisition:

"Pan Am is a breath of fresh air—a fun, colourful and stylish drama set in a captivating era that changed the world."

Stuart Baxter, Senior Executive Vice President European Distribution:

"Pan Am is taking off around the globe and we're thrilled that the BBC will become its UK home. The BBC crowns a growing list of broadcasters who are the international destinations for this iconic, glamorous series."

I'm surprised by this acquisition, mainly because it was reported the BBC would be ditching US shows and focusing on homegrown content. But maybe Pan Am wasn't attracting the interest of any rivals, so the BBC stepped in? Or was it being offered at a price the BBC couldn't refuse? Whatever happened, I'm sure many people are glad another big US drama is going to be available to the majority of people in the UK.

PAN AM premieres 25 September on ABC. The BBC have yet to announce their UK premiere.

Frank Darabont leaves THE WALKING DEAD

Writer-director Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption) has stepped down as showrunner of AMC's The Walking Dead, halfway through production on the new 13-episode second season. His replacement is expected to be Glen Mazzara (showrunner of Starz's Crash), who's been working as Darabont's second-in-command after joining the show with a group of new writers—after Darabont disbanded the first season's team. (Update: this has now been confirmed as happening.)

It's not been revealed why Darabont has felt the need to quit, but he's been unhappy with AMC's plans to trim the show's budget, and there were rumours he found it hard to adjust to the demanding pace of TV production (as he comes from a movie background), but this is all just speculation. I wouldn't be surprised if there's some truth in all that, however. The show clearly struggled to produce six episodes last year, so doubling the order to a standard thirteen may have felt particularly gruelling for Darabont.

I have a feeling Darabont would have been happier making The Walking Dead as a series of movies, doesn't like the time/money constraints of television, and perhaps is too authorial to enjoy working in a writers' room. But who knows. Hopefully Darabont will release a statement soon—but those things are usually misleading and don't get at the truth behind these matters. We probably won't know what happened for a few years or more.

It's speculated that Darabont could retain some kind of credit on the show, but without him to steer the ship it'll be interesting to see how The Walking Dead changes halfway through season 2. Hey, it may even improve...

THE WALKING DEAD returns to AMC on 16 October.

Trailer: Original British Drama (The Body Farm, Doctor Who, The Hour, Merlin, Page Eight & Spooks)

I'm enjoying this "Original British Drama" campaign the BBC's marketing team have hit upon recently, primarily because BBC2's been given money to spend on homemade drama. The trailers are nicely judged teases, and it's just great to feel like the BBC are excited and passionate about making quality drama--rather than cough up another reality TV series or gameshow.

This latest promo features clips of '50s newsroom conspiracy thriller The Hour (which started this week), Doctor Who (featuring a potential gay kiss), Waking The Dead spin-off The Body Farm (starring Tara Fitzgerald and Keith Allen), Merlin's fourth series (featuring an angry-looking Morgana), Bill Nighy and Ralph Fiennes in Page Eight, and the return of Spooks. All set to the tune of Motorhead's "Ace Of Spades".

Excited by any of that?

Scottish comedies GARY: TANK COMMANDER and BURNISTOUN finally coming to whole of UK

Do you remember one of my Talking Point's in May, asking why so many popular BBC Scotland comedies aren't available to the rest of the UK? Well, it feels like someone read that post at the BBC and decided to do something about it! Or I just got lucky talking about an issue someone was already preparing to put right this summer...

Whatever the reason, military sitcom Gary: Tank Commander and sketch show Burnistoun are coming to BBC3 and BBC2, respectively. The downside is that Tank Commander's timeslot is just before midnight at 11:45pm, so set your generic digital recording box. Even so, it'll be interesting to see if these shows prove to be a hit with viewers outside of Scotland..

Gary Tank Commander / BBC Three / Monday 25 July, 11:45pm
Burnistoun / BBC Two / Coming Soon

Channel 4 buy HOMELAND, NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, ALLEN GREGORY, NEW GIRL & APARTMENT 23

Channel 4 have bought the UK rights to Showtime's new thriller Homeland, about a FBI Agent (Claire Danes) trying to prevent a terrorist act, that may be perpetrated by a US war hero (Damian Lewis) recently returned from the Middle East. The series, based on an Israeli drama, comes from Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, producers of 24. Homeland premieres this autumn in the US, but its UK debut hasn't been revealed yet.

In addition, Channel 4 have also bought two US animations: Fox's Allen Gregory (about a boy being raised by his gay dad and his life partner), featuring the voices of Jonah Hill and French Stewart, and the cartoon version of cult movie Napoleon Dynamite. E4 will also air the Fox sitcom New Girl (starring Zooey Deschanel as a woman getting over a breakup), and ABC's Apartment 23 (a comedy about two disparate female roommates living in New York, co-starring James Van Der Beek).

Do any of these shows pique your interest? I'm hopeful that Homeland's going to be good because of the talent involved, but can't say I'm very interested in any of those other shows. I may tune into Napoleon Dynamite's pilot, if only because it sounds so bizarre to have adapted a dreadful cult movie into a King Of The Hill-styled cartoon series.

THE TRIP heads for Italy

According to the British Comedy Guide, The Trip's co-producer Andrew Eaton has revealed a second series is being made, to be set in Italy. Eaton let slip the news during a BAFTA talk, where he was joined by stars Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon at Latitude Festival's Film & Music Arena.

The first series of The Trip aired last November on BBC2, where it lost half its 2 million viewers over a six-week run, although it was critically-adored and has retained a strong fan-base. The series, directed by Michael Winterbottom, was also re-edited into a movie that became a success in North America at various film festivals.

The show saw Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon playing exaggerated versions of themselves (as they did in Winterbottom's movie A Cock & Bull Story), as Brydon accompanied Coogan on a tour around the Lake District, sampling meals at posh restaurants for a Sunday newspaper column. It's not yet known if this concept will form the basis of series 2, albeit with a switch to sun-kissed Italy, but that does seem very likely.

What do you think? Did you enjoy The Trip last year? I did. Or were you one of the million people who abandoned it during its run? Have you seen the movie version? Will you be tuning into an Italian follow-up, or are you only interested in watching clips on YouTube (some of which became very popular around the world)?

TNT renew FALLING SKIES for season 2

The Steven Spielberg-produced alien invasion drama Falling Skies has been renewed for a second season by TNT, after airing just four episodes of its 10-part run. The show has proven to be a ratings smash, with a gigantic 5.91m watching the premiere (the year's best US cable launch), and the drop-off over subsequent weeks still places it at a very good 4.07m.

Michael Wright, TNT's Head of Programming:

"Falling Skies is a true standout series, from its ambitious storytelling, high-profile cast and production team to its phenomenal success when it comes to international and time-shifted viewing. We're reaching new audiences with Falling Skies and look forward to seeing where this fascinating and exciting series takes us next."

Producer Mark Verheiden recently revealed Skies' writers have already started planning for a second season, saying:

"When you get to the end of the first season you'll see that we've just scratched the surface about what's going on, so there are definitely long-term plans."

And now we'll be able to see what those plans are next year! Also, audiences don't have to fear being left in the lurch at the end of season 1, as Camelot and The Event's fans have been recently, so that's a relief.

Falling Skies continues every Sunday on TNT, and has just started airing on FX UK every Tuesday. The second season will debut next summer with another 10 episodes.

TV Ratings: FALLING SKIES (FX), season 1 premiere; LUTHER (BBC1), series 2 finale

TNT's post-apocalyptic sci-fi drama Falling Skies received its UK premiere last night on FX at 9pm. It managed a very promising 423,000, with an audience share of 1.3% over its hour. This is way down on FX's ratings for The Walking Dead's launch last year (736k), but Skies received nowhere near the same level of promotion and marketing.

Simultaneously on BBC One, gritty crime thriller Luther came to a conclusion with its fourth episode, managing to entice a year overnight high of 5.74m (24.8% of the audience). It comfortably beat its terrestrial competition, which included ITV1's Sextuplets: The Little Lambs (3.04m) and Channel 4's new series of Undercover Boss (2.59m).

Sky's HIT & MISS sparks US "bidding war"

Writer Paul Abbott (State Of Play, Shameless) is producing a new drama called Hit & Miss, about a pre-op transsexual contract killer, written by newcomer Sean Conway. Now Deadline are reporting that three US networks are in a bidding war for the rights to air it.

Sophie Turner-Laing, BSkyB Managing Director of News & Entertainment:

"We have a bidding war on Hit and Miss at the moment with three big US entities. They've seen that we've worked on raising our game here. If we have the American market as a buyer for our shows, that gives me much more strength going to [Sky CEO] Jeremy Darroch [and] asking for another £300 million."

Interestingly, American actress Chloë Sevigny (Boys Don't Cry, Big Love) is playing the lead in this British drama. It's not known if this means the transsexual character is American, or if Sevigny will be using an English accent.

It's also encouraging that the bidding war isn't for the rights to remake the show for US audiences, as you'd expect, but to actually show the original version. This does happens occasionally, outside of BBC America imports, but usually only with properties that benefit from having strong British identities—like, for example, NBC/Syfy airing Merlin or PBS showing Sherlock. It's more unusual for a US broadcaster to buy a "straightforward" British drama that isn't historical in nature.

I'd love to know which US networks are bidding for this, too! The three US bidders apparently include just one cable network, so I'm astonished if the other two are mainstream entities like Fox or NBC. Any guesses? Would a network like ABC really broadcast a six-part British show in primetime?

Hit & Miss is currently filming in Manchester and will air in the UK on Sky Atlantic.

Trailer: THE HOUR (BBC2)

The BBC have released the first trailer of their '50s newsroom drama THE HOUR, written by BAFTA-winning Abi Morgan, starring Dominic West (The Wire), Ben Whishaw (Perfume), Romola Garai (Atonement) and Anna Chancellor (Spooks). The six-part drama follows a British topical news show during the Suez Crisis of 1959.

The official BBC blurb:

Romola Garai, Dominic West and Ben Whishaw star in The Hour, a thrilling six-part drama which takes viewers behind the scenes of the launch of a topical news programme in London 1956, written and created by Bafta award-winning Abi Morgan.

With a highly competitive, sharp-witted and passionate love triangle at the heart of the series, it's through the lives of enigmatic Bel and her rivals, Freddie and Hector, that viewers will witness the decade on the threshold of change—from the ruthless sexual politics behind the polite social façade of the Fifties to the revelations that redefined the world for a new generation.

Over the six episodes, the interplay and intense ambitions between our rising news team play out against the backdrop of a mysterious murder and Freddie's controversial and dangerous investigation.

Ben Whishaw plays Freddie Lyon, a brilliant and outspoken journalist, whose passion endlessly lands him in trouble. Getting to the truth of a story can be a dangerous and risky business and it's Bel, his contemporary and best friend, who is always there to bail him out. For Freddie, Bel is so much more as well—if only he were brave enough to tell her.

Romola Garai plays Bel Rowley, spirited and ambitious and facing the most exciting and daunting challenge of her life—running The Hour. Can her passion for the truth survive the political pressure the job will bring—and will her friendship with Freddie survive her undeniable attraction to front man Hector?

Dominic West plays Hector Madden, charming, charismatic – a man whose upbringing and education have instilled in him a sense of entitlement and whose glamorous young wife has the family connections to get him the job as front man on The Hour. But, beneath the confident façade, Hector has a lot to prove. Bel provides the challenge –- and the spark.

The Hour's supporting cast includes Tim Pigott-Smith and Juliet Stevenson as Lord and Lady Elms; Anton Lesser as Clarence Fendley, the BBC's Head of News; Anna Chancellor as Lix, The Hour's brave and maverick hard-drinking foreign correspondent; Julian Rhind-Tutt as Angus McCain, the Prime Minister's eyes and ears; and Oona Chaplin as Marnie Madden, Hector's spoilt beautiful wife.

I can only hope it's as good as it sounds, and not how this trailer makes it look. I'm all for minimalist pop-art, but this trailer just makes the show look horrendously cheap and dull. The buzz surrounding The Hour had insiders describing it as "the British answer to Mad Men", but we'll have to see if that's justified—or if they just share a professional setting in the same era. However, based solely on this trailer, my enthusiasm has dipped, sorry to say--how about you?

The Hour will premiere on BBC2 later this month.

Starz cancel CAMELOT

I'm actually rather surprised by the news that Starz have cancelled Camelot, their adaptation of the Arthurian legend, starring Joseph Fiennes and Eva Green. The ratings were decent (the premiere was a network record-breaker, the finale attracted 1.5 million, viewership was going up towards the end), but US reviews remained very mixed. Interestingly, the show's been received better by UK critics (well, from what little I've read), perhaps because we're more tolerant of a show's daftness? Deadline are reporting that scheduling conflicts with some of the actors also influenced the cable channel's decision. If true, I'm not sure what deal the actors had with Starz when they signed up, as it seems obvious you should keep your diary open once you make a commitment to a US TV series.

Oh well. Better shows have joined the "one-season wonder" club, so I'm not going to lose any sleep about it, but it's a shame the finale's set-up for season 2 won't amount to anything now. Then again, over 10 episodes Camelot explored most of the Arthurian legend's iconic ideas, and most of its own unique storylines were resolved, so it could have been worse.

Are you annoyed by the decision to axe Camelot? Could the show have improved, or did it deserve to be cancelled so soon?

Scott Buck discusses DEXTER season 6

Entertainment Weekly have a terrific interview with Dexter's new showrunner Scott Buck, where he discusses the show's past and present. In particular, Buck reveals details about the forthcoming season (spoilers if you haven't seen season 5 yet), with the following confirmations:

• Dexter will be "very strong, sure-of-himself" this year, in contrast to season 5's anguished shadow, and on something of a spiritual search because he's worried his son Harrison will inherit his "dark passenger". In many ways the show will be returning to its roots, but with Dexter as a "more evolved serial-killer".
• Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica) will be playing religious studies professor Dr Geller. Colin Hanks (King Kong) will be playing an acquaintance of Geller's called Travis, who has "fallen under his power". Molly Parker (Deadwood) is playing Travis' big sister Lisa Marshall. Mos will be playing a "street thug who found God while in prison" called Brother Sam.
• The season will involve a serial-killer who murders with "great conviction" because he believes he's in the right, partly inspired by the real-life Zodiac Killer. There will be a season-long adversary, but also multiple villains along the way.
• Baby Harrison will have a new "sparky, upbeat" nanny called Jamie (Aimee Garcia), as they decided to let Maria Doyle Kennedy leave the show because Buck admits they "wasted her" last year.
• A new "hard-ass detective from Chicago" called Mike Anderson (Billy Brown) will feature.
• Loose-ends like the "Kyle Butler" situation (Dexter's false identity from season 4, known to the Trinity Killer's surviving family) will be returned to again.
• Quinn will "hit some dark days" and his relationship with Debra will be explored further.
• Buck refused to be called on hopes Debra will discover her brother's a serial-killer this year, understandably.

After reading this interview I'm more intrigued about season 6, and I must admit that having Scott Buck run things feels like a wise move. He's been writing for Dexter almost from the start, so really knows its strengths and weaknesses, and the episodes he writes tend to be highlights. I just hope he understands fans are now very aware Dexter follows certain patterns, and are inured to the show's tricks. What once felt raw, shocking, gripping and cutting-edge in season 1 and 2 has become formulaic and almost comfortable in later years.

Maybe Buck won't be able to stop the rot spreading (because this is just what happened when feisty, edgy shows mellow in old age), but I'm hoping season 6 is a return to form in some way. Or just more entertaining than season 5 ended up being, really. The spiritual/religious angle is certainly something I'm quite interested in, if it's done well.

And if nothing else, season 6's guest stars are an interesting mix (certainly more alluring than Julia Stiles and Jonny Lee Miller were last year), and I'm especially interested to see how Olmos fits into the show.

Punch gets POWERS

British comic actress Lucy Punch (Dinner For Schmucks, Vexed) has signed on to play the lead in FX's adaptation of comic-book Powers. Punch will play Deena Pilgrim, an investigator of crimes that involve people with superpowers. There's no word on who will play her character's partner, Christian Walker (pictured above), although Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights) has been linked to the role for awhile. Update! Jason Patric (The Lost Boys) has just been cast as Deena's partner, Christian Walker.

Powers is being developed by Charles H. Eglee (The Shield, Dexter), who's also writing the pilot, that will be directed by Michael Dinner (Justified).

Anyway, this is brilliant news. I'm a fan of Punch: she's silly, funny and sexy. Americans may know her from sitcom The Class and she's also become one of Woody Allen's recent muses—most recently in You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger. I also hear Punch steals the show in Cameron Diaz comedy Bad Teacher, which is in cinemas right now.

Oh, and don't worry—she does a perfect American accent.

Showtime adapting 100 BULLETS comic-book

According to Deadline, screenwriter David Goyer (Batman Begins) has been asked to adapt the 1999 Vertigo comic-book 100 Bullets for US cable channel Showtime.

The noir-style comic, written by Brian Azzarelo and illustrated by Eduardo Risso, concerned a man called Agent Graves who offered various people access to a briefcase containing 100 untraceable bullets, which they can use to avenge wrongdoers in their life. Eventually, an overarching story began to reveal itself regarding the interconnectedness of the people Graves approached and a secret organization called The Trust.

Goyer's a prolific talent in the world of comic-books, having written the Blade trilogy and Christopher Nolan's Batman movies. He's also written the new Superman film, which became a reality purely because the strength of his idea enticed Nolan to get onboard as a producer.

However, Goyer's talent behind the camera and on TV is less successful, as he directed the abominable Blade Trinity and co-created TV sci-fi flops Threshold and FlashForward. Hopefully, in once again adapting someone else's work, he'll manage to create something stylish and compelling for Showtime.

Showtime's Dexter, AMC's The Walking Dead, HBO's True Blood and Game Of Thrones, FX's upcoming Powers, Starz's announced Noir, and now 100 Bullets—it's safe to say US cable channels have decided to plunder literature for their programming.

TV Ratings: GAME OF THRONES, season 1 finale (Sky Atlantic & HBO)

The finale of HBO's Game Of Thrones was a ratings winner for Sky Atlantic on Monday night at 9pm, as the medieval fantasy's last episode averaged 667,000 viewers over the hour. This is just below its premiere high of 743,000.

Over in the US, the finale lured a series high of 3 million on Sunday night for HBO (the previous high being 2.72m for episode 8), boosted to 3.9 if you count a repeat. The show has largely maintained around 2.4 million viewers each week. The overall performance of Game Of Thrones has been below HBO's other new drama Boardwalk Empire (which regularly had over 3 million viewers), but it obviously has a narrower appeal than a lavish period gangster drama.

A special overview of Game Of Thrones' first season will be posted here soon, as so many people e-mailed or tweeted me to ask why I haven't been reviewing it every week. Stay tuned.