When you’ve been performing as long as Ian McElhinney you would rightly expect to be offered roles and not be asked to screen test. That was just what happened for the veteran Irish actor when producers for Binge drama High Country reached out to his agent. McElhinney attributes his work in Derry Girls and Stephen Merchant’s The Outlaws as being instrumental to the offer. “There was something about seeing those two shows, in particular… having made this decision already that they were going to make this guy Irish, they thought, ‘This guy could be the right type for us,'” he tells TV Tonight ..read more

Warner Bros Discovery has given the clearest indication yet that the HBO Max (now known simly as Max) platform will launch in Australia in 2025, the AFR reports. Jean-Briac Perrette, Warner Bros Discovery’s president of global streaming and games, told media executives in Bali at a summit last week, “We’ll do Europe before the Olympics, which we have to get done because we have the Olympics coming in Paris next summer. And then we will get to Asia. “Asia continues to be critically important, but we have to do it in that sequence. And we will get to Asia before the end of next year with our ex ..read more

The return of Game of Thrones topped Pay TV viewing in Australia yesterday, screening across multiple broadcasts. The “Winterfell” episode played 7 times on FOX Showcase (not including FOX Showcase +2). Episode 1 achieved a total premiere audience of 962,000 on linear broadcast: 11am: 196,000 12.06pm: 66,000 1.11pm: 51,000 2.16pm: 43,000 3.20pm: 299,000 8.30pm: 270,000 10.41pm: 38,000 Comparing with 2017 S7 premiere is difficult… that drew 447,000 for its daytime broadcast and 352,000 for the primetime replay, at 799,000 viewers. So the 2019 audience is up 17% with extra playouts. There were ..read more

If you are looking to avoid Game of Thrones spoilers on Twitter, it has a feature which allows users to mute words in their timelines. This Tweet explains a step by step process on how to handle muting words in your timeline. Mute words, phrases, hashtags & more for a specific time period in your timeline & notifications. On Web & Android.https://t.co/jhWKRu0cK1 pic.twitter.com/4pACn8GD3F — Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) March 23, 2017 Users can tune out spoilers, and then jump back into the conversation on Twitter once they’re caught up. Who to follow: @GameOfThrones @GoT_Cas ..read more

The season finale of House of the Dragon was leaked online on Friday, two days before the episode airs, believed to have emerged from Europe, the Middle East or Africa. “We are aware that the tenth episode of House of the Dragon has been posted on illegal torrent sites. It appears to have originated from a distribution partner in the EMEA region,” a statement reads. “HBO is aggressively monitoring and pulling these copies from the internet. We’re disappointed that this unlawful action has disrupted the viewing experience for loyal fans of the show, who will get to see a pristine version of th ..read more

Good news for Game of Thrones fans who haven’t seen House of the Dragon, with Binge confirming the season premiere is now available on YouTube for free. It will be available until October 18. HBO made the first episode available recently when Lord of the Rings debuted on Prime Video, but not in Australia. Enjoy ..read more

House of the Dragon had a winning launch on FOX Showcase yesterday drawing 115,000 national viewers plus another 85,000 in n earlier screening and a further 66,000 in a third. That topped other STV shows AFL 360 (84,000), Live NRL 360 (61,000) and On the Couch (45,000). But they only indicate the Live viewers with numbers and none of Binge. They will doubtless rise rapidly with BVOD across 7 days of viewing. By comparison The Twelve drew 70,000 when it topped STV last Tuesday, meaning the launch looks promising if smaller than Game of Thrones numbers of the past. So far the show seems to have ..read more

CGI magicians can make almost anything happen on screen … a brutal Battle of the Bastards, Destruction of the Great Sept of Baelor, fiery dragons annihilating Kings Landing… But can they make lightning strike twice? That’s the challenge facing writer Ryan J. Condal and director Miguel Sapochnik, as the House of the Dragon successors to Game of Thrones legends David Benioff & D. B. Weiss. On the one hand they must come up with a new series that satisfies Thrones purists, and on the other it will need to stand tall in its own right. The first episode of House of Dragon certainly gives it a ..read more

Foxtel has apologised after a wisecrack at the launch of House of the Dragon by CEO Patrick Delany raised eyebrows. Delany (pictured left) was giving an introductory speech to guests at Hoyts Moore Park when he recalled his early bemusement over Season 1 episodes of Game of Thrones. “I was like, ‘What’s this show with the short, dumpy-looking girl walks into the flames… ?” he joked. “Anyway a couple of years on I thought I better catch up.” The reference to Emelia Clarke as Daenerys drew chatter amongst guests and has since attracted headlines including through Variety, Vanity Fair, IMDb, Yah ..read more

Actor Ryan Corr was guest of honour last night at the Australian premiere of House of the Dragon. Binge screened episode one for guests at Hoyts Moore Park with Corr as one of two Australians to feature in the series. Actor Milly Alcock, who stars as Young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, sent a video introducing the Game of Thrones prequel. In the crowd were Rodger Corser (Doctor Doctor), Tim Campbell (Gogglebox), Anthony Callea (Gogglebox), William Lodder (Love Me), Mitzi Ruhlmann (Love Me), Ngali Shaw (The Twelve), Jenni Baird (The Twelve), Hamish Michael (The Twelve), Matt Nable (The Twelve ..read more