Game of Thrones. The show was the biggest in the world and had an unprecedented level of success for an adult fantasy series on a cable channel, so understandably the likes of Netflix, Amazon, and of course HBO are all looking to find its replacement.
Finding the new Game of Thrones, however, is much easier said than done. Although it's something most networks are actively looking at, there was a perfect storm that led to The Last Kingdom have been moderate hits, but not close to the level of the HBO behemoth.
Now that Game of Thrones is over, there's a huge vacancy in what's become an increasingly crowded marketplace. Given so few TV shows manage to dominate ratings, conversation, and awards like Game of Thrones, it's no surprise that there are a number of big-budget fantasy series on the way (or already on the air) attempting to take Game of Thrones' crown, but don't expect any of them to actually do so.
His Dark Materials
A co-production with BBC, HBO's His Dark Materials is shaping up to be a worthy adaptation of Philip Pullman's books.
The Witcher
The Witcher being Netflix's Game of Thrones.
Westworld
Shortly after the credits rolled on Game of Thrones' series finale, HBO dropped a trailer for Westworld.
Lord Of The Rings
George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire is heavily influenced by J.R.R. Tolkien's it's even nabbed Game of Thrones' best writer in Bryan Cogman.
The Chronicles Of Narnia
Already adapted into a series of movies, it was announced last year that Netflix had acquired the rights to C.S. Lewis' Netflix's The Chronicles of Narnia to be given a major budget as they attempt to stay ahead in the streaming wars.
The Wheel Of Time
Like Lord of the Rings, The Wheel of Time is an extremely imaginative, fully realized and densely populated world that's filled with magic, giving this the attributes needed to become a Game of Thrones-esque TV show.
The Kingkiller Chronicle
With a sprawling fantasy world filled with magic and music, and at its core a University where the hero goes to develop his considerable potential and power, Patrick Rothfuss' The Kingkiller Chronicle TV show will instead follow a group of travelers - likely the Edema Ruh - and explore different corners of the world of Temerant. With religion, action, magic-like abilities, fantastical creatures, and its own living world, Showtime's The Kingkiller Chronicle holds a lot of promise for Game of Thrones fans, with Rothfuss himself strongly influenced by George R.R. Martin.
Game Of Thrones Prequel
HBO might have other series planned, but they've also realized that the easiest way to replace Game of Thrones is with, well, more Game of Thrones. The a very different Westeros to that of Game of Thrones, while still retaining the core DNA that made it so popular.
Why There Won't Be A New Game Of Thrones
As we can see, there are lots of big fantasy shows directly aiming to be the new Game of Thrones, but it's unlikely any of them will succeed. That's not to say any of the series listed above will be bad; all have, to varying degrees, a lot of talent involved and hold plenty of promise. But attempting to be the new Game of Thrones is a near-impossible mission in 2019, because TV no longer allows it. The way audiences consume television has completely changed in the last few years, and Game of Thrones was the last true watercooler TV show left standing.
The amount of streaming services is only going to increase, with Disney+, HBO Max, NBC Universal and more ing the likes of Netflix and Amazon, which in turn further ramps up the competition for viewers. We've already seen that Netflix shows can dominate the conversation for a weekend, or even a week, but binge-watching doesn't allow for one TV show to monopolize the market for several months at a time in the way Game of Thrones used to. In the Peak TV era, it's even harder to stand out from the crowd, and a single TV show - especially one on cable - reaching tens of millions of viewers around the world seems extremely unlikely.
Compounding this is the fact that the next big thing is rarely like that which came before. There were plenty of efforts at recreating Game of Thrones anyway, but the changing of TV suggests nothing will, and that we'll never see its like again.