HBO’s epic fantasy series Game of Thrones has become the most successful show in the network’s history, with the audience for the current season reaching 18.4 million and surpassing the previous record of 18.2 million set by The Sopranos.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Game of Thrones’ audience has increased by 4 million viewers from the third season, and is expected to climb even higher with the final two episodes of the fourth season. And of course, this doesn’t take into account illegal downloads and streaming (as it happens, Game of Thrones was the most pirated show of 2013, and will surely challenge for the top spot again this year).
Game of Thrones has been renewed for a further two seasons, while showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have suggested they will look to wrap up the adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire in seven seasons overall.