Game of Thrones

TV talent inspires students at the RTS Futures Careers Fair

The RTS Futures Careers Fair made a triumphant return to the Business Design Centre in Islington, London, last month, after two years of Covid-enforced absence, during which time it was held virtually. Some 1,300 people attended the fair and around 300 received expert advice from a CV clinic. There were 45 exhibitors in the hall plus an “Ask me anything area”.

Record-breaking launch earns House of the Dragon a second series

The announcement comes after the series opened to record-breaking viewing figures, becoming the biggest drama launch ever for Sky Atlantic.

Based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and tells of the beginning of the end of House Targaryen.

The opening episodes set the stage for the coming civil war as Paddy Considine’s King Viserys I Targaryen was tasked with choosing a successor out of his fiercely competitive heirs.

House of the Dragon, Lord of the Rings and the power of fantasy TV

Magic and myths have ruled popular culture for years. Such is their enduring power that HBO and Sky Atlantic’s Game of Thrones spin-off, House of the Dragon, and Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power are big weapons in the wars between the global streaming giants.

Who's who in House of the Dragon?

House of the Dragon (credit: HBO)

Based on George R. R. Martin's novel Fire and Blood, the fantasy-epic is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. Focussing on the fortunes and politics of the Targaryen family, the series promises more familial machinations, deception, and blood-spilling battles in the events leading up to the Targaryen war of succession, known as the "Dance of the Dragons".

Here are the key players:

“War is afoot” in new trailer for House of the Dragon

The prequel is set two hundred years before the events of Game of Thrones and chronicles the beginning of the end of House Targaryen as a civil war spins out of its competing heirs.

The trailer sees Paddy Considine’s King Viserys I Targaryen face the urgent matter of choosing his successor.

The heir presumptive to the Iron Throne is his younger brother Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), but his firstborn child Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) also has a claim - despite there never having been a Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.

First look trailer released for House of the Dragon

Credit: Sky

Based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire and Blood series, House of the Dragon takes place 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and focuses on the fearsome House of Targaryen. 

The teaser trailer hints at plenty of action, scheming, destruction and, of course, dragons. 

House of the Dragon will see the Targaryens fight over the line of succession, leading to a series of civil wars known as the Dance of the Dragons.

Stephen Graham and Sean Bean to star in new BBC One drama Time

Time explores the two sides of the penal system, the punishers and the punished, and how prison affects all who pass through.

Mark Hebden (Bean), teacher, husband and father, welcomes a four-year jail sentence for killing an innocent man in an accident, having been consumed by the guilt.

Bean said: “Getting to be involved in a Jimmy McGovern drama again is a real privilege and it will be great to be reunited with Stephen.

"Mark Hebden is another of Jimmy’s complex and superbly written characters and I am looking forward to bringing him to life on screen.”

First look at new Sky comedy starring Maisie Williams

Kim Stokes (Maisie Williams) in Two Weeks to Live (Credit: Sky/Nick Wall)

The drama follows strange young misfit Kim (Williams), who was just a child when her father passed away in mysterious circumstances.

Following the tragedy, Kim was whisked off to a secluded setting by her mother Tina (Sian Clifford) and raised with a bizarre set of survival skills.

Now an adult, Kim journeys out into the real world to fulfil a secret mission to honour her father’s memory.

Maisie Williams to star in new Sky comedy Two Weeks to Live

Maisie Williams (Credit: Sky)

Written by Gaby Hull (Cheat), the six-part series revolves around Kim Noakes (Williams), a misfit whose father died under suspicious circumstances when she was young.

Following his death Noakes was taken away by her mother to a life of rural seclusion and bizarre survival techniques.

Now all grown up, Noakes enters the real world and embarks on a secret mission to honour her father’s memory.

When Noakes walks into the bar of socially awkward Nicky and his brother Dave, it sets in motion a series of events that puts their lives in danger.