The primary cast of the popular fantasy drama series, Game of Thrones has reportedly signed contracts for a potential seventh season stated The Hollywood Reporter.
The cast has been offered a “huge” salary hike starting from the fifth season. Under the new deal the lead actors of the show will earn an estimated $300,000 per episode. This pay raise will place the cast of the series in the salary bracket of Hollywood’s top TV stars.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald the deal is unique as it splits the cast into three pay grades.
Actors in the ‘A-tier’ would reportedly earn as much as USD 300000, this includes Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister).
Meanwhile principal cast members and regular actors on the show like Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell), Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) and Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark) have all been placed in the ‘B-tier’.
Based on George RR Martin’s bestselling book series A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Game of Thrones was renewed for two further seasons in April. The cast is currently filming for its fifth season which is slated to be aired in 2015.
The series which is set across the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos interweaves several different stories. It follows different noble houses engaged in a civil war for the iron throne of the seven kingdoms which are at the same time threatened by winter, which brings a lot of misery with it.
The finale of the fourth season of the show had attracted an estimated 7.1 million viewers in the United States and in the process toppled the crime drama, The Sopranos to become the most watched HBO series ever.
The International Business Times has pointed the news about the cast signing new contracts confirmed their participation on the show but that it does not necessarily guarantee that their character will be retained or will stay alive till the seventh season.
The writer of the novels George RR Martin who has developed notoriety for unexpected gruesome deaths is yet to finish writing the final books of the series. The decision to extend the show till the seventh season should not come as a surprise as it had gathered 19 Emmy Award nominations this year.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 2nd, 2014.
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