HBO

Most Game of Thrones viewers could explain the politics of Westeros with more familiarity than their own country, but this week’s historic and controversial Brexit vote might just bridge the gap in an alarming way. Pulling Northern Ireland out of the European Union might have a detrimental effect on the final two Game of Thrones seasons, one of many productions affected by the move.

Game of Thrones ratings haven’t quite outpaced the Season 6 premiere, where everyone and their mother understandably tuned in for a potential Jon Snow return, but Sunday’s “Battle of the Bastards” will likely come close. Reports suggest the epic showdown will continue a trend bringing Season 6 to 23 million viewers across all platforms, a new high for the series.

HBO’s drama problem seems only to increase as 2016 rolls on, a slump that last year dragged True Detective from top-tier to bottom-shelf to cold storage. Matthew McConaughey might just be up for a cold one, however, claiming to have talked with creator Nic Pizzolatto about returning Rustin Cohle for True Detective Season 3.

Following a year’s worth of anticipation, Game of Thrones Season 6 will finally come to an end this Sunday by the extended “Winds of Winter” finale. HBO has proven more hush-hush than ever, but grab a taste of the fiery (or wintery?) end in the official Season 6 finale photos!

Even diehard fans of HBO’s Scorsese-Jagger driven Vinyl knew that Season 2 would bring about some significant changes, but it looks like the record skipped after all. Despite setting a new showrunner after a formal Season 2 renewal, HBO has officially abandoned plans for Vinyl, effectively cancelling the prestigious flop.

Days ahead of the Season 6 finale, Game of Thrones fans don’t yet know how many more episodes lie ahead in Seasons 7 or 8, but that isn’t stopping the cast from cashing in. A new report suggests the bigger Game of Thrones stars are in for a major payday in the final seasons, simultaneously laying to rest theories of which character dies in “The Winds of Winter.”

Now that the dust has settled on Game of Thrones’ big “Battle of the Bastards,” production has gone in-depth with near-every aspect of the 30-minute battle sequence. Well, almost. Fans certainly noticed a peculiar omission, to which director Miguel Sapochnik explains why one favorite fighter curiously ghosted the battle.

Welcome to “Recapping the Realm,” where each week ScreenCrush senior editor Erin Whitney is joined by Tyler McCarthy and Kelly Lawler for a SPOILER-filled discussion of the latest Game of Thrones. This week, Erin, Tyler, and Kelly discuss “Battle of the Bastards” (full episode review here). Tyler is an Assistant Managing Editor at Odyssey. You can tweet at him at @TylerMcCarthy. Kelly is an Entertainment Writer and Social Media Editor at USA Today. You can tweet at her at @klawls.

Days from its premiere, Game of Thrones is still keeping a fairly tight lid on penultimate Season 6 installment “Battle of the Bastards,” to say nothing of its “Winds of Winter” finale. That said, the big battle might not be all this Sunday has to offer, as a leaked report suggests a major meeting will be taking place, perhaps forming the next great ship to rival Tormund and Brienne.

HBO’s secrecy surrounding Game of Thrones Season 6's “Battle of the Bastards” left it unclear if we’d seen any official photos ahead of time, but the penultimate outing’s sneak-peek is here, looming larger than ever. Even Wun-Wun is ready to step on some folk in the epic first photos of Jon and Ramsay’s face-off!

Mere days ago, Curb Your Enthusiasm star J.B. Smoove stirred the ever-swirling pot of Season 9 rumors with reports that creator Larry David was thinking about coming back, but few knew how seriously to take them. Well, prettay, pretty, prettay great news for all, as HBO officially confirms Curb Your Enthusiasm returning for Season 9!

Flying in under the radar for a July premiere, HBO’s John Turturro-led miniseres The Night Of (formerly Criminal Justice) at last has a full trailer, looking more and more like the True Detective Season 3 we might never get. See for yourself, as the one-time Gandolfini-led series finally gets its moment in the sun with some stylistic new footage.