Season 6

Season 6 of Game of Thrones was formally commissioned by HBO on 8 April 2014, following a substantial increase in audience figures between the third and fourth seasons. The fifth and sixth seasons were commissioned simultaneously, the first time HBO has done so for a major drama series.

The season consists of ten episodes. It began filming in late July 2015 and concluded on December 17, 2015. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss returned as executive producers and showrunners for both seasons five and six, having signed a new two-year contract with HBO in early 2014.

The season premieres on April 24, 2016.

Season 6 is based on the hitherto unreleased sixth novel of the A Song of Ice and Fire book series, The Winds of Winter, along with a significant amount of material from the fourth and fifth books, A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons, which run concurrently but follow different sets of characters.

Adaptation
While prior seasons followed a format of adapting roughly one book's worth of material per year (or one large book across two seasons, in the case of Season 3 and most of Season 4), Season 5 heavily condensed together most of the fourth and fifth novels in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons. The fourth and fifth novels did occur simultaneously, and were originally intended to be one massive novel (the fourth novel focuses on events in the Seven Kingdoms and the Free Cities, and the fifth on events at the Wall, in the North and in Slaver's Bay, with the last third outpacing the fourth novel). The result is that by the end of Season 5 most - though not all - storylines in the TV series caught up with the current novels, including:


 * Jon Snow and the Night's Watch
 * Daenerys Targaryen and Meereen, including Tyrion Lannister
 * King's Landing, including Cersei Lannister and Margaery Tyrell (except for one additional Small Council chapter)
 * Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish and The Vale
 * Sansa Stark's storyline in the Vale was merged with Jeyne Poole's from the fifth novel, who is forced to marry Ramsay; Sansa's Vale storylines have now been diverted while she has reached the end of Jeyne Poole's material from the most recent novel.
 * Stannis Baratheon and Melisandre
 * Davos Seaworth was involved in other subplots in the North which were cut, but with Stannis's defeat now it is unknown if these will be drawn on later.
 * Roose Bolton and Ramsay Bolton
 * Bran Stark, Hodor, and Meera Reed - already caught up at the end of Season 4, except for one chapter.
 * Theon Greyjoy, except for his experiences after escaping Winterfell.

Season 5 was heavily condensed, however, and two entire books worth of storylines simply could not fit into a single season. Therefore, several subplots were pushed back until Season 6, including:


 * Almost the entire House Greyjoy subplot since the second novel. The Greyjoys barely appear in the third novel (corresponding to Seasons 3 and 4), but then the narrative shifts to put a major focus on them in the fourth and fifth novels.  Yara Greyjoy (called Asha Greyjoy in the books) even becomes a POV narrator.  In contrast, the Greyjoys (as a faction, not including Theon) did not appear at all in Season 5.
 * Though the Dorne subplot was introduced in Season 5, it was extremely condensed, to the point that Doran Martell only briefly appeared in Season 5, and many other members of House Martell didn't appear at all. Two of Doran's children were omitted from the TV series and may not appear at all in the TV continuity - particularly including Doran's eldest child and heir, Arianne Martell, who is actually the POV narrator for much of the Dorne subplot.  Similar to the Greyjoys, the narrative widens to give focus on the Martells in the fourth and fifth novels, but ultimately very little of the Martell storyline appeared in Season 5.
 * Arya Stark in Braavos - two more chapters after she goes blind at the end of the fourth novel. Another Arya chapter from the upcoming sixth novel was released as a preview before Season 5:  the second half of it involved Arya killing a Lannister guard on her kill list who came to Braavos, and this was already adapted in Season 5; the first half of the chapter involved a lengthy scene at a stage play in Braavos, and screenshots confirm this will appear in Season 6.
 * Samwell Tarly and Gilly's long sea voyage to Oldtown, on the exact opposite side of Westeros, which takes them through Braavos and the Free Cities, and having to face the ironborn who are now ravaging the southwestern coasts.
 * The subplots in The Riverlands, centering around the Frey siege of the Tullys at Riverrun, the garrison commanded by Catelyn's uncle Brynden Tully. The Riverrun subplot involved Jaime Lannister in the novels, as he tries to negotiate with Brynden.
 * Also, Brienne of Tarth's wanderings in the Riverlands were omitted from Season 5. Much of this material wasn't directly relevant to overall plot threads, and several characters who were important to other plotlines now appear to have been reshuffled into other subplots in Season 6.  Given how much Jaime and Brienne's subplots were changed in Season 5, it is unclear how these will play out in Season 6.
 * Bran Stark has only one more chapter, in the Cave of the three-eyed raven, but as it plays out in live action it may stretch across a significant amount of time: training in his magical powers, Bran experiences several visions of the past.  When Bran returns in Season 6, the TV show will use this as a framing device to show various flashbacks from the novels, such as actually showing Bran's father Ned during Robert's Rebellion, and certain other key events.   Some of these flashbacks appeared in one form or another in prior novels, when other characters recounted them through vivid narration, but the TV series only started depicting flashback scenes in Season 5 (the Prologue scene when Cersei has a flashback to her youth when she was given a prophecy about her downfall).
 * Tyrion's storyline as he was heading east to Meereen introduced a major new subplot involving a major political shakeup in the Free Cities. This was cut completely from Tyrion's storyline in Season 5, but after he leaves for Meereen it subsequently intersects with several other subplots (not Arya's). This will probably be cut entirely from the TV series continuity.

Some of these subplots were not omitted entirely but pushed back to Season 6, however this will inevitably lead to some changes compared to the novels, because they were originally interlinked with events happening in the other storylines. Particularly, Cersei's decisions as regent directly affected the Greyjoy, Martell, and Riverrun storylines, and to an extent the Braavos subplot (due to the banking crisis). Given that Cersei has already been arrested in the TV series, some of these choices may be shifted to her uncle Kevan Lannister, the new Hand of the King, loosely drawing on the long Small Council chapter from late in the fifth novel which hasn't been adapted yet. It also isn't clear why Jaime would leave King's Landing again to deal with Riverrun now that Cersei is arrested.

Therefore, Season 6 isn't really "entirely new material" because many subplots were adapted at an uneven pace - though the TV series has always been speeding up or slowing down the rate of different storylines: Jaime's storyline from the third novel was moved up to the end of Season 2 (because he had little material in the second novel), and Bran Stark's storyline from the fifth novel was actually moved up to Season 4, when other characters were still on their material from the late third novel. Jon Snow's subplot was actually delayed for some time - in the third novel, the Battle of Castle Black occurred immediately after Jon returned to Castle Black, which was quickly followed by Jon's election as Lord Commander: due to the mechanics of splitting the third novel in half, Jon returned to Castle Black in the Season 3 finale but the battle didn't occur until the climax of the Season 4 finale, which necessitated pushing the Night's Watch election to the beginning of Season 5 (had this occurred at the pace it did in the novels, Jon's election would actually have happened in the middle of Season 4).

Nonetheless, Season 6 will mostly draw upon the as-yet-unpublished sixth novel, The Winds of Winter - certainly for Jon Snow's storyline, as the final chapter of the fifth novel was the cliffhanger of Jon being stabbed by his own officers. George R.R. Martin did give the TV producers an outline of events that will happen in the final two unpublished novels - though at the same time, they don't have access to hundreds of pages of source material anymore (for pulling specific lines of dialogue, etc.)

Though Martin has released about half a dozen preview chapters from the sixth novel, it isn't clear how much of a basis they can be for any material in the TV series, due to existing differences between the book series and the adaptation. Also, until the book is released, there is no way of analyzing the adaptation process fully (e.g., if the actions of one character in Season 6 are actually a condensation of the actions of two different characters in the sixth novel).

Filming
In Northern Ireland, production ran from late July to late December 2015. Interior shooting returned to the show's headquarters, the Paint Hall Studios in Belfast. Meanwhile, location shooting took place at the following locations: Garron Point (previously Runestone), the Winterfell set in Moneyglass , Magilligan (reprising its part as the Dothraki sea) , the Castle Black set at the Magheramorne quarry , Ballintoy (returning as Pyke) , a rural sept set in Larne , Glenarm (previously the Vale) , Carnlough Harbour (as a Braavosi canal) , Shane's Castle (once more as the foundations of the Great Sept of Baelor) , Carncastle (previously the fields around Winterfell) , Aghanloo Wood , Saintfield (as the site for "The Battle of the Bastards" , a climactic Northern battle , which demanded the show's lengthiest shoot for a battle scene) , the Riverrun set in Corbet (newly built, since in the third season the castle was realized only with Gosford Castle's gardens, an interior hall set and a distant matte painting), the Knocklayd Mountain quarry , Ballycastle in County Antrim, and Murlough Bay.

Ever since Croatia was introduced into the production for the second season, it has been the main source of locations outside of Northern Ireland, yet this season only returned to the country for a brief shoot in Dubrovnik, which reappears as King's Landing. Previously, Dubrovnik had been both King's Landing and Qarth, while Klis, Split and Šibenik depicted Meereen and Braavos. This season turned to new Spanish locations instead.

In Spain, filming took place between late August and late October. In Girona, the locations were the Sant Pere de Galligants abbey's exterior (as a Braavosi bridge) , the Plaça dels Jurats (as a Braavosi theater stage) , the streets of Ferran el Catòlic, Sant Martí and l’Escola Pia (as Braavosi street markets) , another local street (as an alley in Oldtown) , and the Girona Cathedral's exterior (as the Great Sept in King's Landing). Still in Catalonia, they filmed in the Santa Florentina Castle (as Horn Hill), Montgrí Castle and Besalú. Later locations where the Bardenas natural park in Navarre (as the Dothraki Sea) and the Zafra Castle in Guadalajara (as the Tower of Joy). In Peñíscola, all filming spots posed as Meereen: the Portal Fosc (as a dilapidated street) , the Plaza de Santa María (as a granary) , the Parque de la Artillería (as a garden) and the Plaza de Armas. In Almería, filming took place at a new Vaes Dothrak set in Pechina , on the Tabernas Desert (as the Dothraki Sea) , on the Gypsum Karst of Sorbas , at the Mesa Roldán Tower (as Meereen) , and at the Alcazaba (as Sunspear). Finally, filming without any of the cast briefly took place at the Alcázar of Seville (returning as the Water Gardens) and at the Roman bridge of Córdoba (once more as the Long Bridge of Volantis).

When the TV series began in Season 1, there were two simultaneous filming units - which is unusual for most TV shows, which have only one filming unit - called Wolf Unit and Dragon Unit. In Season 3, production expanded to include three filming units, with the new third one called Raven Unit. Season 4, however, switched back to using only two filming units, and Raven Unit was disbanded. Wolf Unit and Dragon Unit continued to film through Seasons 4 and 5. For Season 6, however, the TV series once again expanded to employ three simultaneous filming units: the new third filming unit was now called "White Walker Unit".

According to David Benioff, speaking at the red carpet advanced screening of the Season 6 premiere two weeks before its broadcast:


 * "This season was a beast to make. We shot 680 hours of dailies, which translates to 3.7 million feet of film. We shot in five different countries – Northern Ireland, Spain, Croatia, Iceland, and Canada. We employed 900 crewmembers in Belfast; 400 in Spain. We issued 140 script revisions. We two shot units a day for 22 weeks straight, three units a day for 10 weeks straight, four units for two weeks straight. And none of that would be possible without the greatest producing team on the planet.

Thus they briefly switched to using four filming units for two weeks (it isn't clear if the fourth unit had a name), and apparently returned to film some scenes in Canada (possibly on a sound stage again as in Season 5, due to working with the actor-wolves).

Cast
Returning starring cast
 * Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister
 * Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Ser Jaime Lannister
 * Lena Headey as Queen Mother Cersei Lannister
 * Emilia Clarke as Queen Daenerys Targaryen
 * Aidan Gillen as Lord Petyr Baelish
 * Diana Rigg as Lady Olenna Tyrell
 * Sophie Turner as Princess Sansa Stark
 * Maisie Williams as Princess Arya Stark
 * Jonathan Pryce as the High Sparrow
 * Alfie Allen as Prince Theon Greyjoy
 * John Bradley as Samwell Tarly
 * Dean-Charles Chapman as King Tommen Baratheon
 * Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth
 * Liam Cunningham as Ser Davos Seaworth
 * Natalie Dormer as Queen Margaery Tyrell
 * Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei
 * Jerome Flynn as Ser Bronn
 * Iain Glen as Ser Jorah Mormont
 * Isaac Hempstead-Wright as Prince Bran Stark
 * Conleth Hill as Varys
 * Kristofer Hivju as Tormund Giantsbane
 * Michiel Huisman as Daario Naharis
 * Michael McElhatton as Lord Roose Bolton
 * Hannah Murray as Gilly
 * Iwan Rheon as Ramsay Bolton
 * Carice van Houten as Lady Melisandre
 * Indira Varma as Ellaria Sand
 * Tom Wlaschiha as Jaqen H'ghar

Returning guest starring cast
 * Owen Teale as Ser Alliser Thorne
 * David Bradley as Lord Walder Frey
 * Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm
 * Daniel Portman as Podrick Payne
 * Finn Jones as Ser Loras Tyrell
 * Alexander Siddig as Prince Doran Martell
 * Eugene Simon as Brother Lancel
 * Anton Lesser as Qyburn
 * Julian Glover as Grand Maester Pycelle
 * Natalia Tena as Osha
 * Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Lord Mace Tyrell
 * Clive Russell as Ser Brynden "The Blackfish" Tully
 * Tobias Menzies as Lord Edmure Tully
 * Ellie Kendrick as Meera Reed
 * Gemma Whelan as Princess Yara Greyjoy
 * Patrick Malahide as King Balon Greyjoy
 * Ben Crompton as Eddison Tollett
 * Kristian Nairn as Hodor
 * Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as Ser Gregor Clegane
 * Ian Gelder as Ser Kevan Lannister
 * Nell Tiger Free as Princess Myrcella Baratheon (corpse)
 * Toby Sebastian as Prince Trystane Martell
 * Rosabell Laurenti Sellers as Tyene Sand
 * Keisha Castle-Hughes as Obara Sand
 * Jessica Henwick as Nymeria Sand
 * Richard Brake as The Night's King
 * DeObia Oparei as Areo Hotah
 * Art Parkinson  as Prince Rickon Stark
 * Lino Facioli as Lord Robin Arryn
 * Rupert Vansittart as Lord Yohn Royce
 * Brenock O'Connor as Olly
 * Michael Condron as Bowen Marsh
 * Brian Fortune as Othell Yarwyck
 * Elizabeth Webster as Lady Walda Bolton
 * Hannah Waddingham as Septa Unella
 * Tim Plester as Walder Rivers
 * Enzo Cilenti as Yezzan zo Qaggaz
 * George Georgiou as Razdal mo Eraz
 * Ian Whyte as Wun Wun
 * Faye Marsay as the Waif
 * Josephine Gillan as Marei

Returning former starring cast
 * Kit Harington as Lord Commander Jon Snow
 * Sibel Kekilli as Shae

New major cast members
 * Sam Coleman as young Hodor. Announced July 2, 2015.
 * Ricky Champ as Flynn. Announced July 23, 2015.
 * Ian McShane as a fusion of Septon Meribald and the Elder Brother. Announced March 3, 2016.
 * Max von Sydow as the Three-eyed raven. Announced August 3, 2015.
 * Sebastian Croft as young Eddard Stark. Announced August 9, 2015.
 * Eddie Eyre as a Tower of Joy Kingsguard. Announced August 27, 2015.
 * Pilou Asbæk as Euron Greyjoy. Announced September 1, 2015.
 * Freddie Stroma as Dickon Tarly. Announced September 4, 2015.
 * Richard E. Grant as Izembaro. Announced September 11, 2015.
 * Essie Davis as Lady Stork. Announced September 11, 2015.
 * James Faulkner as Lord Randyll Tarly. Announced September 16, 2015.
 * Samantha Spiro as Lady Melessa Tarly. Announced September 16, 2015.
 * Rebecca Benson as Talla Tarly. Announced September 16, 2015.
 * Robert Aramayo as TBA. Announced September 30, 2015.
 * Luke Roberts as "Lord Rowland Selwyn" (pseudonym). Announced October 1, 2015.
 * Melanie Liburd as a Red Priestess. Announced October 3, 2015.
 * Joe Naufahu as Khal Moro. Announced October 8, 2015.
 * Souad Faress as the High Priestess of the Dosh khaleen. Announced October 15, 2015.
 * Staz Nair as Qhono. Announced October 15, 2015.
 * Chuku Modu as Ahko. Announced October 19, 2015.
 * Andrei Claude as Khal Rhalko. Announced October 23, 2015.
 * Elie Haddad as a Dothraki khal. Announced November 4, 2015.
 * Dean S. Jagger as Smalljon Umber. Announced November 26, 2015.
 * Ania Bukstein as High Priestess Kinvara. Announced January 1, 2016.
 * Tamer Hassan as Khal Forzo. Announced January 14, 2016.
 * Annette Tierney as a housemaid (possibly a younger Old Nan). Announced February 2, 2016.
 * Paul Rattray as Harald Karstark. Announced March 1, 2016.

New minor cast members
 * Fergus Leathem as TBA. Announced August 9, 2015.
 * Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson as TBA. Announced August 26, 2015.
 * Andrew Bryan as a Bolton officer. Announced August 26, 2015.
 * Tristan Heanue as a Bolton soldier. Announced August 26 ,2015
 * Robert Render as TBA. Announced August 28, 2015.
 * Eddie Jackson as TBA. Announced August 29, 2015.
 * Glen Barry as Stage Hand. Announced August 29, 2015.
 * Brendan O'Rourke as a theater troupe member. Announced August 29, 2015.
 * Ross Anderson as a theater troupe member. Announced September 7, 2015.
 * Michael Heath as Kesh. Announced September 9, 2015.
 * Eva Butterly as the theatre troupe Margaery actress. Announced September 10, 2015.
 * Eline Powell as the theater troupe Sansa actress. Announced September 10, 2015.
 * Kevin Eldon as the theater troupe Ned actor. Announced September 11, 2015.
 * Leigh Gill as Bobono. Announced September 12, 2015.
 * Kevin Horsham as a Westerosi sea captain. Announced September 15, 2015.
 * Matt Faris as TBA. Announced September 16, 2015.
 * Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir as a Braavosi musician. Announced September 17, 2015.
 * Ragnar Þórhallsson as a Braavosi musician. Announced September 17, 2015.
 * Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson as a Braavosi musician. Announced September 17, 2015.
 * Raül Tortosa as a Tyrell bannerman. Announced September 17, 2015.
 * Michael Nevin as TBA. Announced October 14, 2015.
 * Sabina Arthur as a Meereenese homeless mother. Announced October 19, 2015.
 * Robert Fawsitt as TBA. Announced November 2, 2015.
 * Dermot Ward as TBA. Announced November 2, 2015.
 * Aron Hegarty as TBA. Announced November 2, 2015.
 * Margaret Jackman as an old lady. Announced November 3, 2015.
 * Diogo Sales as a Dothraki bloodrider. Announced November 3, 2015.
 * Michael Patrick as a Wildling. Announced November 9, 2015.
 * Gary Wales as a Healtor troop. Announced December 16, 2015.
 * Sally Mortemore as a well healed lady. Announced December 16, 2015.
 * Adam Turns as a pale young man. Announced December 16, 2015.
 * Ian Davies as Morgan. Announced December 24, 2015.
 * Yousef Sweid as one of the Great Masters of Meereen. Announced January 1, 2016.
 * Desmond Edwards as an Umber soldier. Announced January 8, 2016.
 * Deon Lee-Williams as a young Dothraki warrior. Announced January 14, 2016.
 * Mark Tankersley as a Bolton general. Announced February 2, 2016.
 * Jed Murray as TBA. Announced February 2, 2016.
 * Ruairí Heading as a green recruit. Announced March 1, 2016.
 * Annette Hannah as Frances. Announced March 1, 2016.
 * Elynia Betts as a tavern girl. Announced March 6, 2016.
 * Brahm Gallagher as TBA. Announced April 2, 2016.

Reported new characters
 * Ser Arthur Dayne.
 * Aeron Greyjoy.
 * Young Lyanna Stark.
 * Young Benjen Stark.
 * Bower, a servant.
 * Lachlan, an outlaw leader.
 * Japeth, an outlaw.
 * A hapless man who fits the description of a son of Lord Walder Frey.
 * A fat, old Northern nobleman who fits the description of Lord Wyman Manderly.
 * A callow Northern nobleman.
 * A wry, articulate Lord.
 * A Child of the Forest.
 * A large boy.
 * A 7 year old boy.
 * A hunter.
 * A submissive maester.
 * A sympathiser (1).
 * A sympathiser (2).
 * A sympathiser (3).
 * A father.
 * A rugged pirate.
 * A smart male theatergoer.
 * A young stunner.
 * A sublime courtesan.
 * A long-haired Dothraki warrior.
 * A young Dothraki warrior.
 * An Oldtown maester.
 * A young Lhazareen member of the Dosh khaleen.
 * Captain of the Tower.
 * A Dothraki warrior in his 30's or 40's.
 * A distinguished old man.
 * Warrior widows.

Crew
On March 27 2015, author George R.R. Martin said he would again not write a script for Season 6, as he wished to concentrate on finishing The Winds of Winter as soon as possible. On June 4, Miguel Sapochnik indicated he was already preparing to direct next season. Jeremy Podeswa made similar statements in June 12. On June 19, the showrunners confirmed that April Ferry would be the new costume designer for Season 6, replacing Michele Clapton, who decided to leave after five seasons. On June 22, newcomer Jack Bender announced he would direct two episodes for season six. The full list of directors and which episodes they would oversee was released in Entertainment Weekly on June 25. There are five directors, each doing two back to back episodes, as in Season 5. Jack Bender and Daniel Sackheim are working on the TV series for the first time, while the other three directors previously worked on the series in Season 5; none worked on the first four seasons.

Producers

 * David Benioff: executive producer & showrunner
 * D.B. Weiss: executive producer & showrunner
 * Bernadette Caulfield: executive producer
 * Frank Doelger: executive producer
 * Carolyn Strauss: executive producer
 * George R.R. Martin: co-executive producer
 * Vince Gerardis: co-executive producer
 * Guymon Casady: co-executive producer
 * Greg Spence: producer
 * Chris Newman: producer
 * Bryan Cogman: producer
 * Lisa McAtackney: producer
 * April Ferry: costume designer
 * Deborah Riley: production designer
 * Ramin Djawadi: composer
 * Nina Gold: casting director
 * Robert Sterne: casting director

Writers

 * David Benioff & D.B. Weiss: episode 1
 * Bryan Cogman: 2 episodes

Directors

 * Jeremy Podeswa - episodes 1 and 2
 * Daniel Sackheim - episodes 3 and 4
 * Jack Bender - episodes 5 and 6
 * Mark Mylod - episodes 7 and 8
 * Miguel Sapochnik - episodes 9 and 10