'Game of Thrones' creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are set to have another show screened on HBO.
David Benioff and his wife Amanda Peet
The creative duo, who have masterminded the success of the money-spinning fantasy series, are to return to the US broadcaster with a new programme called 'Confederate', which will begin shooting after the final season of 'Game of Thrones' wraps.
The much-anticipated new show centres on civil wars, but not exclusively the US civil war, and is set in a reality whereby the Confederacy seceded successfully.
As a result, the US society in which the show is set features legalised slavery and will follow the stories of characters who live their lives on either side of the demilitarized zone.
But before the show launches, attention will continue to centre on the finale to 'Game of Thrones'.
And earlier this week, the programme's director Jeremy Podeswa defended Ed Sheeran's recent cameo.
The Emmy-winning director praised the flame-haired singer for doing a "lovely job" when he made an appearance in the HBO show after the cameo received heavy criticism.
He said: "He comes with no entourage. There's nothing connected with him that's in the least bit self-aware or self-conscious ... I think Ed did a lovely job - he's a lovely actor and a lovely person.
"He was appropriate for the part because he needed to sing. If people didn't know who Ed was, they wouldn't have thought about it twice. The hoo-ha seems to be from things that are outside of the world of the show. In the world of the show, he did a lovely job, and he looks like he belongs in that world.
"I think people interrogated it too much, they're bringing so much of his [superstar] presence into the thing which is far beyond what anybody was thinking going into it."
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