“Game of Thrones” has become such a cultural phenomenon — posting record ratings for HBO and winning scores of awards — that it’s easy to forget that not everybody warmed to the epic fantasy series from the start.
Take the New York Times, which published a scathing review by Ginia Bellafante when the show debuted back in 2011.
“‘Game of Thrones’ is boy fiction patronizingly turned out to reach the population’s other half,” TV critic Ginia Bellafante sniffed in her review, dismissing the adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s series of novels as unworthy of the premium cable network that “distinguished itself” with loftier fare like “The Sopranos,” “Deadwood” and “The Wire.”