Wild Cards: George R. R. Martin’s New TV Series Is Your New TV Fever

US – After the sixth season of Game of Thrones, and some theories confirmed, it is clear that the much-awarded series will end soon, possibly in 2018. While fans might feel devastated with a Song of Fire and Ice coming into its final season, they might also get pleasure from a new show based on another collection of the same author.

The series of book called “Wild Cars” is set in an alternate universe, after the events of World War II. In this fictional post-war, the Wild Card virus hits Manhattan, spreading throughout the word and changing the DNA of the infected. This results in the death of most of its inhabitants. The rest are either turned into “Jokers”, horrible creatures that act as the antagonists, and the “Aces”, the 1% blessed with superpowers.

“Wild Cards is a series of books, graphic novels, games… but most of all it is a universe. As large and diverse and exciting as the comic book universes of Marvel and DC (though somewhat grittier, and considerably more realistic and more consistent), with an enormous cast of characters both major and minor,” explained the 67-year-old author, in his blog.

Although it is based on the superhero archetype structure, Wild Cards is not your typical “good vs. evil” story. Just like Game of Thrones, it depicts a more realistic and gruesome point of view of fantasy novels. The anthology has been written by a total of thirty authors, sharing the same universe, meaning that there are solo novels and mosaic novels, piling up to this date to 23 volumes.

The series started in January 1987 under the publisher Bantam Books and had since gone through four different publishers, with Tor Books on the present date. The book series have been adapted into comic books, role-playing games, and audiobooks.

However, due to the exclusivity contract that Martin has with HBO, the author won’t be involved with the adaptation, leaving co-editor of the book series Melinda M. Snodgrass on the helm. The show will be produced by Universal Cable Productions, which are responsible for other popular series such as Mr. Robot, Suits, 12 Monkeys and The Killjoys.

Source: LA Times