# news article explains ow hbo shareholders could sue for damages over GOT season "fiasco" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 21, 2019, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275 "2019-05-21T08:28:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/1 "2019-05-21T08:28:15Z")
this article explains how hbo/at&t shareholders could sue the company for damages to stock prices and losses [https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/topstocks/opinion-game-of-thrones-fiasco-shareholders-would-have-a-good-case-to-sue-in-court/ar-AABDVHf?li=BBnbfcN#page=2](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/topstocks/opinion-game-of-thrones-fiasco-shareholders-would-have-a-good-case-to-sue-in-court/ar-AABDVHf?li=BBnbfcN#page=2) do you think someones gonna attempt it? would you if you were them ? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/2 "2019-05-21T08:29:13Z")
Gimme a fucking break. ---
**Author:** ![Annoying\_Buzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Annoying\_Buzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annoying_Buzz)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/3 "2019-05-21T09:23:17Z")
Anyone who does should be sentenced to 10 years of nothing but reality TV and _Who Wants to be a Millionaire_ reruns. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/4 "2019-05-21T10:49:58Z")
This all seems like more over-sensitive entitled nerds having a tantrum, just as they did with _The Last Jedi_ and _Solo_ and also the 13th _Doctor Who_. This nonsense has to stop, it’s gone way past ridiculous. They’ve inferred their actions have made a difference, when they just don’t understand how little impact they really can have on what is a complex industry used to rallying after subtle economic shifts. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/5 "2019-05-21T10:55:14Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > do you think someones gonna attempt it? would you if you were them ? Any attorney that would seriously present this argument would be laughed out of court and rightly disbarred. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/6 "2019-05-21T10:57:41Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Gimme a fucking break. This times a thousand. Jeez, I’m starting to feel like the only person on the planet who was quite satisfied with the finale. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/7 "2019-05-21T10:58:17Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > This all seems like more over-sensitive entitled nerds having a tantrum, just as they did with _The Last Jedi_ and _Solo_ and also the 13th _Doctor Who_. This nonsense has to stop, it’s gone way past ridiculous. They’ve inferred their actions have made a difference, when they just don’t understand how little impact they really can have on what is a complex industry used to rallying after subtle economic shifts. You left out Star Wars episodes 1-3 , people are still throwing tantrums over those 20 years later ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/8 "2019-05-21T10:59:50Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > this article explains how hbo/at&t shareholders could sue the company for damages to stock prices and losses > > [MSN](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/topstocks/opinion-game-of-thrones-fiasco-shareholders-would-have-a-good-case-to-sue-in-court/ar-AABDVHf?li=BBnbfcN#page=2) > > do you think someones gonna attempt it? would you if you were them ? As I said about the petition: > [@game of thrones redo season 8 change.org petition](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-redo-season-8-change-org-petition/834032/15): > > I wish I could believe that this petition comprised Peak Fanboy Whining, but it probably won’t even be the whiniest fanboy nonsense on the Internet today. I’m still waiting for the crowd of dorks cosplaying Jon Snow to picket HBO headquarters. ---
**Author:** ![BeagleJesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5daacb/32.png) [@BeagleJesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeagleJesus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/9 "2019-05-21T12:00:46Z")
Regardless of the quality of the final season I’m quite confident HBO has made a killing off of GoT over the course of the series. Why would shareholders give a damn if the quality is down while revenues and interest remains high? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/10 "2019-05-21T12:23:34Z")
Your honor, the shareholders demand Ford bring back the Crown Vic! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/11 "2019-05-21T12:40:31Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Gimme a fucking break. Break me off a fucking piece of that KitKat Bar. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/12 "2019-05-21T12:56:31Z")
HBO’s defense: Here’s the [ratings](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/game-thrones-series-finale-sets-all-time-hbo-ratings-record-1212269). End of lawsuit ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/13 "2019-05-21T13:42:07Z")
Yeah, two things… First, that’s just fanboy whining nonsense. It’s the complaints of overgrown children demanding they get what they want when they want it and making empty threats that only highlight their powerlessness and impotence. Anyone promulgating it should be deeply ashamed. Second, who the hell is Brent Arends? He’s a ‘marketwatch columnist’. Good for him, he’s a journalist. But he’s neither an attorney nor a media expert. His opinion on the matter holds as much weight as my cats does. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/14 "2019-05-21T13:47:34Z")
Caveat emptor, baby. Next up: a lawsuit to force GRRM to finish the books, which must contain a foreward saying, “the end of the TV series is not canon.” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/15 "2019-05-21T14:08:18Z")
Toxic fandom is reaching such idiotic levels that I don’t even know what the hell to say anymore. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/16 "2019-05-21T14:22:00Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Toxic fandom is reaching such idiotic levels that I don’t even know what the hell to say anymore. Yup; it’s why I stopped hanging out in Star Wars fan forums a few years ago. I’d love to be able to have conversations with other fans about Star wars (or the MCU, or whatever), but it all now amounts to endless threads about “This is how Disney / HBO / whoever got it WRONG!!!” ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/17 "2019-05-21T14:43:49Z")
Well, Lionel Hutz did [sue](https://9gag.com/gag/aMGzDyR/lionel-hutz)the makers of ‘The Never Ending Story’ for false advertising, and this idea has a broadly similar level of cartoonish stupidity about it. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/18 "2019-05-21T15:52:44Z")
That’s an opinion, not a news article. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/19 "2019-05-21T17:21:54Z")
No. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ecks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ecks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ecks)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/20 "2019-05-21T19:30:45Z")
So even though it’s ridiculous to sue over the Game of Thrones finale, would it be possible to make a misfire so bad that a lawsuit would be proper? Is an artistic decision always insulated from judgement in ways that other business decisions are not? Would they have a case if the finale ended with Bran waking up and discovering it was all a dream, or that it’s all a tabletop RPG session? Or filming the whole thing in someone’s backyard on a 1980s camcorder and improvising all the dialogue? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275.md?page=2)