"Game of Thrones" still has the bulk of two seasons to go, but the showrunners of HBO's blockbuster flagship fantasy series are ready to unveil their next original show.
The new series from David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, called "Confederate," will begin production after the final season of "Game of Thrones," HBO announced Wednesday. HBO is owned by Time Warner Inc.
"Confederate" will take place in an alternate universe where the southern states successfully broke away from the Union, giving rise to a nation where slavery remained legal. The show will chronicle events leading to "the Third American Civil War."
The "what-if-we-lost" timeline bears some resemblance to Amazon's "The Man in the High Castle," which ponders what would have happened if Germany and Japan had won World War II, and Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale," which envisions a patriarchal, dystopian nation in which women are subjugated.
"There won't be dragons or White Walkers in this series, but we are creating a world," Benioff and Weiss said in a press release.
The season seven premiere of "Game of Thrones" obliterated the previous ratings record-holder in the series, delivering 16.1 million viewers Sunday night. The opener increased its viewership by percent from the season six premiere, according to Entertainment Weekly.