Brexit can’t hurt the real Game of Thrones

RELAX — there’s no need to release the dragons. Brexit won’t hurt Games of Thrones, HBO has pledged.

Phew ... no need to call on the Mother of Dragons to save GoT from Brexit. Picture: HBO

RELAX — there’s no need to release the dragons just yet. Brexit has come, but winter is not.

Cable network HBO has pledged the fantasy epic — which is partly filmed in Northern Ireland — will not suffer due to Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.

The assurance comes as HBO tries to quash speculation that the lavishly produced show would lose EU funding.

The series received support from the EU’s European Regional Development Fund in its early years, HBO confirmed, but the fund has provided no support for the past few seasons.

“We do not anticipate that the result of the EU referendum will have any material effect on HBO producing Game of Thrones,” the network, a unit of Time Warner Inc, said in a statement.

The show continues to receive funding from the UK, including from Northern Ireland Screen, which provides government support for local businesses.

The show, now in its sixth season, has a budget of $US10 million ($A13.38 million) per episode, according to Entertainment Weekly.

GoT is, or has been, filmed in Spain, Croatia, and Malta, in addition to Northern Ireland.

The series has also been shot in Iceland, which is not an EU member state.

A majority of voters in Northern Ireland, one of four ‘nations’ that comprise the United Kingdom, cast ballots for remaining in the EU.