HBO has officially announced a third season of their adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s epic series Game of Thrones.

“Series creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss raised our expectations for the second season – and then surpassed them,” Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming said in a statement. “We are thrilled by all the viewer and media support we’ve received for the series, and can’t wait to see what Dan and David have in store for next season.”

HBO expects the second series to beat the first season average of 9.3 million viewers in the US, with two episodes so far broadcast. It airs on Sky Atlantic in the UK.