Read more: Sean Bean on ‘Game of Thrones’ season premiere - VIDEO

Read more: HBO’s new series ‘Game of Thrones’ filmed in Northern Ireland

Although the world of television and the lives of countless housewives across America were brought to a tenable standstill this week with the announcement of the cancellation of daytime soaps One Life to Live and All My Children, the outlook for fans of HBO's brand new series Game of Thrones was much brighter.

After just one episode, Entertainment Weekly and The New York Times are reporting that the cable network that has produced such hits as Sex and the City and The Sopranos, has renewed Game of Thrones for at least another season after the premiere's ratings were quite promising.

The series, based on the popular novels of George R.R. Martin, was filmed in Northern Ireland and focuses on what the Times describes as "the intertwined family rivalries of the Starks, Lannister, and Targaryens." Additionally, the series boasts an impressive cast that includes English actor Sean Bean. Bean, who also starred in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, knows a thing or two about fantasy genre films, as his performance in the last film of the series earned him a Screen Actor's Guild award. HBO are hoping for similar recognition when awards season rolls around again later this year.

Along with HBO's other recent hit Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones sees the network's return to form both critically and commercially, after Showtime's sudden rise to prominence in recent years. Though it was not reported when the second season of Game of Thrones would begin shooting or its projected date of release, it is likely to premiere sometime in 2012.

EMBED