Game of Thrones featurette hits The Wall

The popular HBO series Game of Thones is poised to return and anticipation is high.

Of course, it helps that HBO is releasing a fairly constant stream of information, images, and videos to whet our appetites. Seeing the ramp up for this show is like watching a massive ramp up to a big-budget film.

This new featurette is another good example. What other fantasy drama serial has such elaborate production that behind-the-scenes type videos can actually be impressive?

The second season, based on the second book of the Song of Ice and Fire book series, by George R. R. Martin, spends a lot of time far north beyond ‘The Wall’, an imposing barrier which keeps out the wild people and animals of the frigid wastelands.

As this video shows, the studio decided to find a real location which resembles the snowy lands of the novel – the mountain wilderness of Iceland – which has many of its own filming challenges.

The first season was one of the most watched shows on television last year, which is quite a feat for a premium show, and was the most successful show on HBO ever, bringing them a glut of new subscribers who ordered up the network just to see Game of Thrones. It was this critic’s favorite show of the year, and I’m looking forward to the second season more than anything else coming up. This season it will also be airing across the Atlantic on the UK premium network Sky Atlantic.

Here’s the most recent trailer:

If you need to catch up from season one, HBO subscribers can watch on the HBO Go website.

The second season of Game of Thrones arrives on HBO April 1, 2012 and Sky Atlantic on April 2.