The spell of American TV shows: how Game of Thrones takes the world by storm

While the rerun of TVB’s 1990s drama The Greed of Man has surprisingly generated a huge following among people from all walks of life in Hong Kong, no other shows can come close to being as compelling as Game of Thrones, an American TV series from HBO. Since the first season debuted in 2011, Game of Thrones has got viewers throughout North America, Europe and Australia discussing the plots and twists, leaving them eagerly anticipating the next season once the current season is over.

Adapted from American writer George R. R. Martin’s series of fantasy novels A Song of Ice and Fire, the show is being written as it goes on. The shooting was halted when Martin failed to submit the script, prompting some viewers to intimidate him into hurrying things along—proof that the show has cast a powerful spell on its audience.

In the four years since it was first aired, the domino effect caused by the show has become a widely discussed topic. For example, the filming locations used in the show have become tourist attractions. Tourism Ireland predicted that the number of visitors would reach two million by 2016. Likewise, Croatia National Tourist Board also markets their tourist attractions based on their appeal as shooting locations.

However, it turns out to be merely a convenient coincidence for Ireland because the filming locations are actually based in Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom. The top-rated TV series was attracted to Northern Ireland not just by its breathtaking scenery, but also by its television and film industry that has been quite well developed in recent years, which explained why it was selected as the production base for the TV series.

Belfast, Northern Ireland’s largest city, has seen government investment in the film production sector for about eight years. Ulster University is known for specialising in filmmaking techniques while the local government supports film companies with public funding. In 2007, a shipyard in Belfast was transformed into Titanic Studios where City of Ember, a film produced by Tom Hanks, was shot, followed by Universal Pictures’ Your Highness soon after. On the other hand, Game of Thrones picked the site after setting on the production facilities in Northern Ireland in 2010.

Between 2009 and 2013, Game of Thrones had created 941 full-time jobs, and as many as 5,700 if those employed on shorter-term daily contracts are included, bringing about £82 million to the local economy. With Britain’s longstanding neglect of Northern Ireland, it came as a surprise that Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited the set of Game of Thrones at Titanic Studios last year.

The success of Northern Ireland has got its neighbour Scotland gnashing its teeth, since Game of Thrones had once planned to do the shooting in Scotland—after all, both countries boast similar natural landscapes. However, Scotland lost out on the opportunity because it did not have a studio facility on a par with Northern Ireland’s Titanic Studios.

In fact, the Scottish film industry has urged the government to fund the construction of a world-class film studio for years, but the government believed that, firstly, there was no spare funding from the treasury for the project; secondly, even with spare funding, government intervention in the free market should be frowned upon. Despite the presence of government branches like “Creative Scotland” and “Scotland industries”, the lack of cooperation between them has put a damper on the industry.

How to support creative industries with public funding is also a game of thrones in itself. Allowing outsiders to take charge of a profession that is not their own can easily backfire. Instead, the best solution is to follow Northern Ireland’s example by providing support and assistance for infrastructure in coordination with education policies, while letting go of the reins in hands-on operations.