Game of Thrones Creators Take On History With Alternate History Series Confederate

There's a hip new Civil War drama headed your way from Game of Thronescreators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. TV Guide learned Wednesday that HBO has given a series order to their alternate history series Confederate.

Taking place in modern day, the story occurs in a different reality in which the southern states actually seceded from the Union, creating a separate nation in which slavery is legal. The show will follow the events leading up to the fictionalized Third American Civil War, focusing on characters from both sides of the Mason-Dixon Demilitarized Zone including freedom fighters, slave hunters, politicians, abolitionists, journalists, the executives of a slave-holding conglomerate and the families of those involved.

"We have discussed Confederate for years, originally as a concept for a feature film," Benioff and Weiss said. "But our experience on 'Thrones' has convinced us that no one provides a bigger, better storytelling canvas than HBO. There won't be dragons or White Walkers in this series, but we are creating a world, and we couldn't imagine better partners in world-building than [The Good Wife producer] Nichelle [Tramble Spellman] and [Empire producer] Malcolm [Spellman], who have impressed us for a long time with their wit, their imagination and their Scrabble-playing skills."

Production on the series will begin after Game of Thrones wraps its final season in 2018.