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HBO Takes on Beyonce, Dragons and 'True Detective' Rumors

HBO will air Beyonce and Jay-Z's "On the Road Tour," has no plans for ending "Game of Thrones," and will soon cast the next season of"True Detective."
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HBO is already home to Emmy-nominated dramas "Game of Thrones" and "True Detective" and "Beyonce: X10," the superstar's series of concert performances. Now, the network will add the other half of the music industry's powerhouse couple to its lineup when it airs the final shows in Beyonce and Jay-Z's concert tour together.

HBO will air the final leg of the married couple's historic tour in Paris in September and air it that month, HBO President of Programming Michael Lombardo announced Thursday at the summer press tour of the Television Critics Association in Los Angeles.

"It's probably the most anticipated concert tour of the summer," Lombardo said.

HBO's biggest show in history, "Game of Thrones," received 19 Emmy nominations on Thursday and has already been renewed for two more seasons. But fans of George R.R. Martin's fantasy world are worried that the author won't complete his next book in time for the series to be able to continue.

Lombardo said the network and the series producers are in close contact with Martin and he is focused on writing his book as well as consulting on the next season of the show. Martin is two volumes away from completing his seven-book series.

"We're not worried," Lombardo said.

Because the show is catching up to his books, Martin has expressed interest in ending the series with a movie. But Lombardo said that's only a long-term desire of the author and the network is not in discussions with him about an ending.

"We’re not talking at this point about ending the show within 2 years," he said.

The network is also excited about the second season of "True Detective," the anthology series starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson that earned 12 Emmy nominations on Thursday, including best drama and best lead actor recognition for both men.

"The first two scripts we have are more exciting than the first season," Lombardo said. "[Nic Pizzolatto] an incredibly talented writer whose blown us away on the first two episodes."

Although the Internet has been rife with theories about who will star in the show, Lombardo declined to say who the network is considering but promised the cast will be announced soon.

"We’re going to do the next season with puppets. They’re being built right now," joked Richard Plepler, HBO's chairman and chief executive officer.

Lombardo would not say if the show will feature men or women as central characters but said they will be well-known actors.

"Maybe people came initially to 'True Detective' because of Matthew and Woody's names, but they stayed because the show was compelling," Lombardo said.

Alright, alright, alright.