Game of Thrones is one of those shows that you either love or hate. Personally, I love GoT and will gladly watch until it is off the air (thank you, baby Jesus, for reruns). Today, HBO announced that once Game of Thrones wraps, the next project helmed by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss will be an alternative history series called Confederate.
Benioff and Weiss will pair up once again and executive produce the new series that will take place in an alternative timeline where the South won the Civil War and seceded from the Union. In this version of events, slavery still exists and is legal in today’s day and age.
The cast will reportedly be made up of characters ranging anywhere from freedom fighters, politicians, slave hunters, and slaves themselves amongst others. One storyline of interest includes a slave-owning conglomerate with the families they own and control.
Once Game of Thrones wraps, production will be underway on bringing this new drama to our attention. Admittedly, Twitter is not here for it.
DeRay McKesson, a major Black Lives Matter activist, tweeted:
Nobody needs a series about a world in which the confederacy wins. Reality today is enough.
— deray mckesson (@deray) July 19, 2017
HBO was like, “We gave y’all a 2nd season of Insecure..now you’ll deal with the Confederate..”
— Yesha (@YeshaCallahan) July 19, 2017
“HBO’s new series CONFEDERATE is-”
Nope. Nope. Nope. Whole lotta nope. Noppity Nil. Leslie Knope. Nah. pic.twitter.com/2FzsAI2DBd— Alan Sizzler Kistler (@SizzlerKistler) July 19, 2017
With Game of Thrones being on the receiving end of endless criticism when it comes to diversity, I have to wonder if Weiss and Benioff thought this was a good idea? We’ve now seen Star Wars embrace PoC and our first female Dr. Who exist. Is it ridiculous to expect a series of such stature such as Game of Thrones to not only create mythical creatures but utilize PoC characters that do not just serve their white counterparts? Or are viewers slightly more sensitive when it comes to new television show ideas?
Only time will tell once Confederate airs on HBO.
Would you tune in for Confederate?
[Image via Game of Thrones’s Instagram]