M-Net has the rights to the magnificent Game of Thrones but there's no broadcasting date for this epic new fantasy series yet.

The utterly, absolutely amazing new TV show Game of Thrones will start its first season of 10 episodes today in America.

I broke the news RIGHT HERE in January that M-Net has scooped up the rights to the fantastic Game of Thrones and planned to allocate it to the M-Net Series (DStv 110) channel - however I just asked again and no specific broadcasting date has yet been set by the pay broadcaster. It's great however that South African viewers will get to see another simply fantastic TV show this year, bringing the tally to 4 out of 8 of the year's hottest brand-new TV shows I identified at the beginning of the year.

With the superb way in which the production of this finely-crafted adult fantasy series has turned out, it's now conceivable that M-Net might consider to move this phenomenal show - and the perfect acquisition for its 25th birthday year - to the M-Net channel (DStv 101) where Game of Thrones can truly shine. Moving it from M-Net Series to M-Net will mean an automatic upgrade to M-Net HD (DStv 170) (Game of Thrones was beautifully filmed in castles and mesmerizing landscapes ranging from Northern Ireland to Scotland and Malta), as well as instantly give more prestige to this production befitting this magnificent TV show.

Although I'm told that Game of Thrones doesn't appear on the preliminary broadcasting schedule yet (South African broadcasters are already busy with their preliminaries for July and August), when it does start, it will be must-see M-Net television and a wonderful feather in the cap of the pay broadcaster.

It was nearly a decade ago that M-Net showed the beautiful mini-series Gormenghast. Almost 10 years later viewers will fall in love with the sprawling fantasy of Game of Thrones set in three distinct places - a Lord of the Rings type story and an HBO production - in which ''winter is coming''. In short: Winter (the season) is coming (but also allegorically - meaning death and destruction, fear). Three distinct ''groups'' (kingdoms if you will, all with their own intricate family squabbles) all ''battle'' each other to control the land.

To the northern border there's this incredibly massive wall, built thousands of years ago - constructed to keep things away that have passed into legend and myth. A garrison protects the wall (but no longer as vigilantly as it should - more out of tradition) behind which lies an unknown, dangerous dark and wintry forest world. And things - evil things - are stirring. They haven't been killed and they didn't die in the epic war millenia ago. They were sleeping ...