--- description: "When the commander-in-chief says, 'I want to see advanced episodes,' what are you gonna do?" title: President Obama is the Only Person in the World to Get Advance Episodes of Game of Thrones image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltefb901024bef0473/69888e49428a9eff91cd222b/hbo-game-of-thrones-john-snow.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [TV](/tag/tv/) ## TV Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # President Obama is the Only Person in the World to Get Advance Episodes of _Game of Thrones_ by [James Hibberd/Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## James Hibberd/Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 14, 2016 11:01 AM CUT  Helen Sloan—HBO by [James Hibberd/Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## James Hibberd/Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 14, 2016 11:01 AM CUT “Mr. President? The fate of Jon Snow is about to be revealed in the screening room.” At the _Game of Thrones_ premiere event in Hollywood on Sunday, showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss confirmed rumors that Barack Obama wanted – and will get – episodes of their ultra-secret show ahead of their debut on HBO. During [HBO’s Facebook Live stream](https://www.facebook.com/GameOfThrones/videos/vb.74133697733/10153642483542734/?type=2&theater "undefined") from the event’s red carpet, interviewer Veronica Belmont asked the Emmy-winning team if they had any “ah-ha … we’ve totally made it” moments coming into season 6. “I think, for both of us, finding out the President wanted advanced copies of the episodes was an ‘ah-ha’ moment,” Weiss said. “That was a very strange moment.” And did they say yes? “Yes,” Weiss replied. “He’s the leader of the free world.” Benioff added: “When the commander-in-chief says, ‘I want to see advanced episodes,’ what are you gonna do?” HBO is remaining mum on the subject, but if Obama gets advanced copies, he’s the only person outside of HBO to do so. In an unprecedented move, HBO decided not to send any screeners to journalists or industry insiders. The move was to maintain the secrecy of the show’s season 6 storylines, which are expanding beyond the scope of author George R.R. Martin’s novels for the first time. ### See The Real-Life People Who Inspired Game of Thrones Characters  From left: Cersei and Margaret of Anjou HBO; Getty Images  From Left: Khaleesi and Queen Elizabeth I. HBO; Getty Images  From Left: Melisandre and Bloody Mary Helen Sloan—HBO; Getty Images  From left: Talisa Stark and Anne Boleyn. Helen Sloan—HBO; Getty Images  From left: Brienne of Tarth and Joan of Arc. HBO; DeAgostini—Getty Images  From left: Henry VIII and Robert Baratheon. HBO; Getty Images  From left: Joffrey and Caligula. HBO; De Agostini—Getty Images Last month, _Thrones_ actor Liam Cunningham told _Vulture_ that Obama gets advance copies of the show, though it wasn’t clear at the time if he was referring to season 6\. “Did you know he gets advance copies? POTUS. He gets DVD copies before we do. And we’re in it!” the actor said. Obama has previously said _Thrones_ is [one of his favorite shows](http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-st-president-obama-favorite-tv-show-the-knick-20151209-story.html "undefined"). And he had apparently once expressed concern about the fate of the Night’s Watch Lord Commander. As _Thrones_ director [David Nutter told EW last summer](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/10/game-thrones-obama "undefined"): “Three weeks ago, I was the in the company of the President of the United States. He turned to me, put his hand on my shoulder, and said, ‘You didn’t kill Jon Snow did you?’” Nutter said he replied: “ ‘Jon Snow is deader than dead.” If Donald Trump gets elected president this fall, the _Thrones_ team might not give him the same coveted access. In a _New York Times_ profile of _Thrones_ star Peter Dinklage this weekend, columnist Maureen Dowd [said Weiss](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/10/opinion/sunday/dinklage-and-dragons-will-tyrion-win-the-game-of-thrones.html "undefined") had a dim view of the Republican frontrunner: “Weiss … says Trump reminds him of Hodor, a gigantic dimwit who answers every question with one word: his name.” For the rest of the world, _Thrones_ returns April 24. _This_ [_article_](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/04/13/game-thrones-premiere-obama "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_EW.com_](http://www.ew.com "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4293609/obama-advance-got-episodes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4293609/obama-advance-got-episodes/"},"headline":"President Obama is the Only Person in the World to Get Advance Episodes of Game of Thrones","datePublished":"2016-04-14T11:01:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:07.364Z","description":"\"When the commander-in-chief says, 'I want to see advanced episodes,' what are you gonna do?\"","url":"https://time.com/4293609/obama-advance-got-episodes/","keywords":["TV"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltefb901024bef0473/69888e49428a9eff91cd222b/hbo-game-of-thrones-john-snow.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"James Hibberd/Entertainment Weekly"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltefb901024bef0473/69888e49428a9eff91cd222b/hbo-game-of-thrones-john-snow.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"HBO-game-of-thrones-john-snow","caption":"","creditText":"Helen Sloan—HBO","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/tv/","name":"TV"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4293609/obama-advance-got-episodes/","name":"President Obama is the Only Person in the World to Get Advance Episodes of Game of Thrones"}}]}] ```