Confederate, the controversial new show from Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, has officially been cancelled by HBO before an episode even aired.

The network announced Confederate, a “slavery drama”, back in 2017, and it met significant criticism online.

Read more: Winter came too quickly – how Game Of Thrones got a bad case of the premature climax

A press release at the time of announcement said the show “chronicles the events leading to the Third American Civil War,” but “the series takes place in an alternate timeline, where the southern states have successfully seceded from the Union, giving rise to a nation in which slavery remains legal and has evolved into a modern institution.”


The show’s slavery-themed storyline attracted mounting criticism on Twitter, where the hashtag #NoConfederate began trending after the show’s announcement.

Now, HBO boss Casey Bloys has reportedly confirmed to TV Line, that the show would not be moving forwards.

The news follows Benioff and Weiss stepping down from helming the next Star Wars film in October after penning an overall deal with Netflix. The next possible option for a director for the next film in the franchise is Thor and Jojo Rabbit director Taika Waititi.

Soon after the announcement, plot details for the pair’s planned Star Wars trilogy leaked online.


“Benioff and Weiss had ambitious plans to take the Star Wars universe in a new direction, one that would exist apart from the Skywalker family saga that comprised the franchise’s centerpiece nine-film series,” a report revealed.