HBO is celebrating the 10th anniversary of Game of Thrones in style with a month-long event called “The Iron Anniversary.” The network announced the event on Monday morning, promising “a curated spotlight page on HBO Max, a cause-driven 73-hour ‘MaraThrone,’ special-edition products and more.” The event will stretch throughout all of April.
Game of Thrones first premiered on April 17, 2011, and went on to change TV itself in the decade that followed. It also remains one of HBO’s most successful, popular and recognizable franchises to this day, so it makes sense that the network is pulling out all the stops to celebrate its birthday. The first aspect of the event is a “spotlight page” on the HBO Max app and website, with episodes curated by popularity, storyline and other categories. This is reportedly meant to be a starting point where new fans can ease into the series, or die-hard fans can hunt for Easter eggs they’ve missed so far.
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.@HBO announces the #IronAnniversary, a month-long celebration to commemorate the 10th anniversary of @GameOfThrones.
The celebration kicks off with a curated spotlight page on @HBOMax, a cause-driven #MaraThrone, and more: https://t.co/ue32zgmJxI pic.twitter.com/bFAgFXHDOb
โ HBO PR (@HBOPR) April 5, 2021
At the time of this writing, the spotlight page features carousels called “Most-Watched Episodes” and “Valar Morghulis: The Best Battles,” each with a few episodes from various seasons. It also points fans to behind-the-scenes featurettes about the making of the show, the granular details of the fictional world of Westeros and interviews with the creators. Finally, at the bottom of the page fans can find their way to other TV shows and movies that feature the cast of Game of Thrones โ organized by Great Houses.
This is just the beginning of The Iron Anniversary, which will extend to HBO’s cable channels starting on April 10. Then, HBO2 will host a “MaraThrone” starting at 10 a.m. ET, challenging fans to binge-watch all 73 episodes of Game of Thrones straight. The effort will help support select global charities and will feature encouragement and participation from several cast members.
More events will follow throughout the month, including fan participation for three couples who were married in Game of Thrones-style ceremonies. Meanwhile, some aspects of the anniversary will be more universal, including three product cross-overs so far. They include Fabergรฉ eggs styled after Daenerys’ dragon eggs, an “Iron Anniversary IPA” by Danish brewery Mikkeller and a new line of Funko Pop! figures.
More details on “The Iron Anniversary” are expected to come out throughout the month, including some connections to the upcoming prequel series, House of the Dragon. The new show began filming in the U.K. this month, and is expected to air on HBO in 2022. In the meantime, fans can stream Game of Thrones on HBO Max, or catch one of the “MaraThrones” this month.