Today, the real world is reeling from the historic Brexit vote — Britain's decision to leave the European Union. But there have been reports that the fantasy world could be threatened, too.
How's that? Well, if you're a fan of Game of Thrones set spoilers, then you know that HBO films much of the big-budget show on location in Northern Ireland. (Winterfell and Meereen are set there — as was last week's pivotal Battle of the Bastards.) And like other production outfits that film in Northern Ireland, HBO receives funding from the European Regional Development Fund — which was created to stimulate the economy across the E.U. — as an incentive to shoot in the region, according to Foreign Policy.
Now that the U.K. has voted to leave the E.U., people are worried that Game of Thrones is at risk of losing that funding. But according to HBO, that's actually not the case. "We do not anticipate that the result of the E.U. Referendum will have any material effect on HBO producing Game of Thrones," the network told Entertainment Weekly. Although the show receives financial incentives like funding and tax breaks for filming in Ireland, those benefits are not from programs expected to be affected by Brexit.
Phew! Major crisis averted, people! Oh wait — there's still that whole, potentially devastating IRL impact on the global economy and stability thing to worry about.