Now that Britain’s voted to leave the European Union and the “Brexit” has become a reality, it’s time to take stock of everything that’s threatened by an isolationist United Kingdom. By “everything,” we of course mean the steady import of British-produced programming that Americans mainline. HBO has already thoughtfully put Game Of Thrones fans out of their misery, issuing a statement to reassure viewers that only the Stormborn is likely to destabilize Westeros.
“We do not anticipate that the result of the EU Referendum will have any material effect on HBO producing Game of Thrones.”
It turns out the show hasn’t received any money from the European Regional Development Fund, which is the reserve affected by Britain’s pending departure. Game Of Thrones films in northern Ireland, where it does get some tax incentives from the Northern Ireland Screen, which released its own statement to assure fans that funding would not be affected:
“This statement is to confirm that Northern Ireland Screen’s production funding comes from the Northern Ireland Executive through Invest NI and does not use monies provided from European funded programmes.”
Season six of the acclaimed drama will wrap up its bastard-laden run on Sunday, but there are still two seasons left to film and otherwise worry about. But future obstacles don’t seem likely, as production on Game Of Thrones’ seventh and eighth seasons would likely wrap before Britain takes its leave in about two years. Now all we have to worry about is the falling pound.