Game of Thrones creators to produce Confederate for HBO

It was announced by HBO today that Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will produce Confederate for HBO.

Casey Bloys, the president of HBO Programming, made the announcement today.

According to HBO, the series will take place in an alternate timeline and cover the events that transpire on the way to the start of the Third American Civil War:

CONFEDERATE chronicles the events leading to the Third American Civil War. The series takes place in an alternate timeline, where the southern states have successfully seceded from the Union, giving rise to a nation in which slavery remains legal and has evolved into a modern institution. The story follows a broad swath of characters on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Demilitarized Zone – freedom fighters, slave hunters, politicians, abolitionists, journalists, the executives of a slave-holding conglomerate and the families of people in their thrall.

“As the brilliant Game of Thrones winds down to its final season, we are thrilled to be able to continue our relationship with Dan and David, knowing that any subject they take on will result in a unique and ambitious series,” Bloys said in a statement from the network. “Their intelligent, wry and visually stunning approach to storytelling has a way of engaging an audience and taking them on an unforgettable journey. CONFEDERATE promises to be no exception, and we are honored to be adding the talented team of Nichelle and Malcolm Spellman to the mix.”

“We have discussed CONFEDERATE for years, originally as a concept for a feature film,” Benioff and Weiss said in a statement from HBO. “But our experience on Thrones has convinced us that no one provides a bigger, better storytelling canvas than HBO.  There won’t be dragons or White Walkers in this series, but we are creating a world, and we couldn’t imagine better partners in world-building than Nichelle and Malcolm, who have impressed us for a long time with their wit, their imagination and their Scrabble-playing skills.”

Joining the Game of Thrones duo in writing and executive producing the series are Nichelle Tramble Spellman and Malcolm Spellman. Carolyn Strauss and Bernadette Caulfield will also executive produce.