“Game of Thrones” may have been dead this past year — but it definitely didn’t die.
Apart from keeping a spot on Reddit’s annual most popular TV shows chart and landing on 2018’s most-tweeted about programs list, Comcast just reveled the HBO fantasy epic was also its top video-on-demand series this year. And that’s all despite the fact “Game of Thrones” last aired a new episode in August 2017 and isn’t coming back with its last batch of fresh ones until April 2019.
The David Benioff and D.B. Weiss-created series was No. 1 among Comcast’s 22 million-plus subscribers, according to data from the company’s video service, which was published by USA Today on Wednesday.
Don’t worry, people did find something a little more recent to watch too, as NBC’s “This Is Us,” Starz’s “Power,” Fox’s “9-1-1” and ABC’s “The Good Doctor” also cracked the Top 5 list.
“The fact that that show is still ranked No. 1 across the board when it wasn’t even current is pretty incredible. It shows just how large of a following that show has (and) how new people are still discovering it,” Brynn Lev, VP of editorial and programming at Comcast Cable told USA Today.
See the list of Comcast’s top 2018 on-demand shows below and read more from the USA Today report here.
2018: Top 20 Shows On Demand*
Game of Thrones (HBO)
This Is Us (NBC)
Power (Starz)
9-1-1 (Fox)
The Good Doctor (ABC)
Shameless (Showtime)
Westworld (HBO)
Jersey Shore Family Vacation (MTV)
Outlander (Starz)
Homeland (Showtime)
The Sopranos (HBO)
Law & Order: SVU (NBC)
Billions (Showtime)
The Voice (NBC)
Married at First Sight (Lifetime)
The Resident (Fox)
America’s Got Talent (NBC)
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
Keeping Up with Kardashians (E!)
Chicago PD (NBC)
*Ranking of most popular series viewed on demand in Comcast’s 20 million-plus homes, from Jan. 1 to Dec. 5, 2018.
“Game of Thrones” eighth and final season premieres in April 2019 on HBO.
22 Most Shocking TV Character Deaths of 2018, From 'The Affair' to 'Westworld' (Photos)
If there was one thing 2018 taught us, it's that "shocking" is a truly relative term -- and we're not even talking about real-life instances here. Yes, it's pretty hard to blow anyone's mind these days, including that of TV viewers, making truly gasp-worthy small-screen character deaths few and far between. But that didn't stop several showrunners from doing their worst -- er, best, to totally kill you with these on-screen passings. Obviously, spoilers ahead.
Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) -- "This Is Us": We've known the Pearson family patriarch was going out long before the second season got around to showing how he died. The wham episode (which aired after the Super Bowl) packed a punch because of the twist that sees Jack of cardiac arrest due to smoke inhalation after a house fire the entire family manages to make it out of alive.
Madison Clark (Kim Dickens) -- "Fear the Walking Dead": Madison's death was one of several bombs the "Walking Dead" franchise dropped on fans this year. Dickens' exit left fans in a zombie-like haze they had barely recovered from by the time Andrew Lincoln's Rick Grimes said farewell to the main series.
Many, many residents of Westworld -- "Westworld": Several characters on Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy's HBO sci-fi series died on the Season 2 finale, including Bernard, Charlotte Hale, Elsie, Robert Ford, Dolores and Maeve -- to name of a few of the many. The shocker here is the group is divided into those who stayed dead, didn't stay dead, and may or may not still be dead.
Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) -- "Star Trek: Discovery": Dr. Culber's death marked the passing of another small-screen LGBT characters death, made even more frustrating because the beloved doc was one half of "Star Trek's" first gay couple on TV.
Alison (Ruth Wilson) -- "The Affair": Allison's death at the end of Season 4 was a shock, but not as much of a shock as the behind-the-scenes story of Wilson's exit. Read about that here.
Anika (Grace Byers) -- "Empire": The death of "Kitty Boo Boo" was clearly a long-time coming, as "Empire" co-creator Danny Strong told TheWrap, but knowing Anika had it coming didn't help us contain our gasps during her Andre-assisted suicide.
David Rosen (Josh Malina) -- "Scandal": Truly the only real White Hat on the Shonda Rhimes political drama, David Rosen was never going to make it to the end of the series finale.
(Almost) everyone on Earth -- "American Horror Story: Apocalypse": This season was literally named after the end of the world, so it really would have been more shocking if no one died. Yes, pretty much everyone kicking the bucket (at one point or another) by the end of "AHS" Season 8 was expected. But the real "OMG!" for Ryan Murphy fans came when the clock was turned back and (mostly) everyone on the good side of the end-of-days battle was revived, thanks to Mallory (Billie Lourd).
So many Crains -- "Haunting of Hill House": Netflix's TV adaptation of the horror novel of the same name is packed with tragic moment upon tragic moment for the Crain family, but the deaths of Nellie and Olivia cut deeper than anything else the show throws at you. Oh, and if you didn't cry over Hugh's sacrifice in the finale, then you are truly dead inside.
Bill (David Haig) -- "Killing Eve": It's hard to say there's anything about the Sandra Oh-led BBC America spy thriller's first season that isn't shocking. But Bill going out was, uh, definitely up there.
June (Maya Rudolph) and Oscar (Fred Armisen) -- "Forever": Basically the premise of the whole show is that they're dead, but it was a secret. Surprise!
Martin Riggs (Clayne Crawford) -- "Lethal Weapon": Riggs' death was definitely a kick in the head -- in-universe, that is. Roger Murtaugh losing his partner suddenly would have hit fans harder if it wasn't already very clear Fox was killing off Riggs before the Season 3 premiere even aired, due to on-set spats between Damon Wayans and Clayne Crawford. Now that behind-the-scenes drama? Yeah, that was shocking.
Dede (Shelley Long) -- "Modern Family": The ABC sitcom teased a major character death leading up to its annual Halloween episode, and fulfilled that grim promise with the sudden passing of Mitch and Claire's mother.
Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly) -- "House of Cards": Doug outlived his idol, Frank Underwood, making it all the way to the end of the series before being taken out by Claire herself.
Nick (Frank Dillane) -- "Fear the Walking Dead": Before Kim Dickens' exit, Dillane was killed off the series and we thought we'd never recovery. Nick, one of the few remaining original characters, was shot in the chest by Charlie, sending us into tears for days. The death was made even more shocking by the fact that Dillane asked to be written off.
Eden (Sydney Sweeney) -- "The Handmaid's Tale": Young, sweet Eden's execution marks a turning point in Season 2 of the Hulu adaptation. The moment horrifies Serena Joy and makes her question her beliefs about Gilead's dystopian society.
Werner Ziegler (Rainer Bock) -- "Better Call Saul": Werner's death proves that Mike Ehrmantraut is becoming the man you always knew he would be before "Breaking Bad."
Alan Pangborn (Scott Glenn) -- "Castle Rock": Pangborn is accidentally offed by his lover Ruth Deaver (Sissy Spacek) just over halfway through the first season of Hulu's Stephen King-universe series.
Here are all the small-screen demises that packed a big punch this year
If there was one thing 2018 taught us, it's that "shocking" is a truly relative term -- and we're not even talking about real-life instances here. Yes, it's pretty hard to blow anyone's mind these days, including that of TV viewers, making truly gasp-worthy small-screen character deaths few and far between. But that didn't stop several showrunners from doing their worst -- er, best, to totally kill you with these on-screen passings. Obviously, spoilers ahead.