Kings, queens, knights and renegades use schemes and swords to battle for the throne. Game of Thrones is an American medieval fantasy television series created for HBO by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. The series is based on author George R. R. Martin's best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series of seven planned fantasy novels, the first of which is called A Game of Thrones. The series debuted in the U.S. on April 17, 2011.