“Game of Thrones” premieres April 17 on HBO

"Game of Thrones" - HBO Photo by Helen Sloan

HBO’s new show “Game of Thrones,” based on the fantasy book series “A Song of Ice and Fire,” by George R.R. Martin, begins its ten-episode season April 17, airing from 8 to 9:05 p.m..

Executive produced and written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the series was filmed at the Paint Hall Studio in Belfast, Northern Ireland as well as in a variety of locations in Northern Ireland and Malta, according to a news release.

“Game of Thrones” stars include Mark Addy, Sean Bean, Peter Dinklage and Lena Headey.

The series’ synopsis, provided by HBO, is as follows:

“Game of Thrones” follows kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars and noblemen as they vie for power.  As the series opens, King Robert Baratheon, who is married to Cersei Lannister of the wealthy and corrupt Lannisters, asks Lord Eddard “Ned” Stark to come south and help run his kingdom after the questionable death of his right-hand man. Meanwhile, there is a threat to the throne from the east by the exiled teenage Princess Daenerys and her brother Viserys, whose family ruled the Kingdoms for many years before their bloody ouster.  And there are rumors of strange things happening at the edge of the Kingdoms, north of the Wall, where Jon Snow, Ned’s bastard son, goes to be part of the brotherhood of the Night’s Watch, which is sworn to protect the Kingdoms.