HBO defends Game of Thrones creators' new show Confederate: 'Judge the final product not what it could be or might be'

Network regrets how the show was announced

(Getty)

HBO has said it was 'misguided' in how it announced Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss' new series about an America where slavery is still legal.

“File this under hindsight is 20-20,” HBO programming president Casey Bloys said at the Television Critics Association event in LA this week, adding that he wished there was an opportunity for a do-over.

“Our mistake — HBO’s mistake, not the producers — was the idea that we would be able to announce an idea that is so sensitive and requires such care and thought on the part of the producers in a press release was misguided on our part," he continued, adding that he wished the producers had sat with journalists to discuss the show and their vision for it in depth.

"Richard [Plepler, CEO of HBO] and I had the benefit of sitting with these four producers. We heard why they wanted to do the show, what they were excited about. So we had that context. But I completely understand why somebody reading the press release wouldn’t have that."

Though Bloys was critical of the announcement, he stands by the show itself.

“The producers have said they’re not looking to do ‘Gone With the Wind’ 2017," he said. "It’s not whips and plantations. It’s what they imagine a modern day institution of slavery would look like."

"All we can do is ask that people judge the final product of these artists and not what it could be or might be."

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