# 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:** 2
**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, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/21 "2019-05-21T19:43:27Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ecks](#): > > 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? Good god no. A lawsuit is not the answer to everything. The finale could have been a naked Bronn drunkenly singing, “Fuck you dorks!” for an hour, and your recourse is to cancel your HBO subscription. If you’re a stockholder, you can sell your stock. I’m not a huge believer in the invisible hand of the marketplace, but this is basically what the invisible hand was designed for. The courts shouldn’t be involved. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/22 "2019-05-21T19:53:51Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ecks](#): > > 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? I think you’d have to somehow prove that they’d made deliberately bad decisions with the specific intent of tanking the show, and even then, there’d probably have to be some other criminal element, like they were trying to manipulate HBO’s stock price, or they were embezzling production money. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/23 "2019-05-21T19:56:33Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > This times a thousand. > > Jeez, I’m starting to feel like the only person on the planet who was quite satisfied with the finale. I loved it. I loved the whole season. ---
**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, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/24 "2019-05-21T20:01:39Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I think you’d have to somehow prove that they’d made deliberately bad decisions with the specific intent of tanking the show, and even then, there’d probably have to be some other criminal element, like they were trying to manipulate HBO’s stock price, or they were embezzling production money. Maybe if they’d done the finale as a musical, about Hitler. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/25 "2019-05-21T20:06:24Z")
The most blatant case of fraudulent advertising since Lionel Hutz’s suit against the film _The Never Ending Story_. ---
**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, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/26 "2019-05-21T20:06:33Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Maybe if they’d done the finale as a musical, about Hitler. 😃 It woulda brought down the house. ---
**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, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/27 "2019-05-21T20:31:57Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > It woulda brought down the house. Springtime for Hodor? ---
**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, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/28 "2019-05-21T20:53:56Z")
Supposedly (?) a lot of people are canceling their HBO subs now that The Big Show is over. But that wouldn’t have anything to do with quality, necessarily. People were just keeping with it til the end before going elsewhere. HBO is reacting too slowly to what’s going on with streaming. Only recently did the boss declare that they needed to generate a _lot_ more content. And long running, expensive, large-cast, risky, multi-season shows isn’t the way to do it. That takes too big of a chunk of the production budget. The network that proved you could have quality, popular shows outside of the traditional networks needs at least 4 time original content. Replaying a modest number of movies months after they hit streaming isn’t go to work. ---
**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, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/29 "2019-05-21T21:01:43Z")
people canceled every year after GOT was done . And then signed up again the following year for GOT ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/30 "2019-05-21T21:08:33Z")
> [@BeagleJesus](#): > > 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? Because they no longer will make a killing off of GoT now that it’s over? I admit, I didn’t read the linked article as carefully as I might have, but I thought its main objection was that HBO didn’t allow the show to continue, thus depriving shareholders of all the megabucks that would have come their way from future seasons. Which is still totally :rolleyes:, but not for quite the same reason. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/31 "2019-05-21T21:17:41Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Jeez, I’m starting to feel like the only person on the planet who was quite satisfied with the finale. Try being the only person on the internet who thinks the finale for _Quantum Leap_ was well-done. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/32 "2019-05-21T21:42:51Z")
That article is silly. > [@Johnny\_Ecks](#): > > 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? People who run corporations are protected by the “[business judgment rule](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_judgment_rule).” Generally, that means that as long as they are acting with good faith, loyalty, and due care, corporate directors and managers aren’t liable for their business decisions even if some of the decisions turn out bad. It would be really hard for plaintiffs to establish that HBO didn’t proceed with due care when they ended the show. There is no evidence of bad faith or disloyalty. > [@Miller](#): > > I think you’d have to somehow prove that they’d made deliberately bad decisions with the specific intent of tanking the show, and even then, there’d probably have to be some other criminal element, like they were trying to manipulate HBO’s stock price, or they were embezzling production money. These are pretty good examples of a lack of good faith and loyalty so kudos to Miller. There are certainly lots of other potential examples. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/33 "2019-05-21T21:59:34Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Try being the only person on the internet who thinks the finale for _Quantum Leap_ was well-done. 😉 I LOVE THAT FINALE Come on…Sam meets God??? And though not intended (Maybe…I think) to stick… “Sam never returned to his own time” is a fantastic ending. Made me cry. Just a punch in the chest. I love it. Loved the BSG finale too. Didn’t watch Lost but saw some of the end scenes. Seemed quite well done. Was fine with the Cheers finale. Liked the TNG and DS9 finales. Christ people. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/34 "2019-05-22T01:15:05Z")
> [@left hand of dorkness](#): > > the finale could have been a naked bronn drunkenly singing, “fuck you dorks!” for an hour and why wasn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/35 "2019-05-22T01:28:48Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ecks](#): > > 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? There was a film called [Heaven’s Gate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven%27s_Gate_(film))in 1980 that was such a colossal disaster in so many ways that the studio ended up being sold. After the failure of 1987’s[Ishta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishtar_(film)#Release)r, Coca Cola decided to get out of the movie business. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/36 "2019-05-22T01:45:53Z")
OK, even setting aside the point about how it’s a work of art, and de gustibus and so on… If shareholders are suing over loss of value of their shares, just whom are they suing? If they’re shareholders, they have nobody to blame but themselves. HBO doesn’t have any extra money they can distribute to their shareholders, because the money they make, they’re _already_ distributing to shareholders, because that’s what shares are. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/37 "2019-05-22T02:58:13Z")
> [@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. What? Are people literally now claiming Solo bombed due to angry nerds and not just it being a bad movie? Also angry nerds are to blame for Game of Thrones complaints when I’m seeing people of all types openly complaining about the ending in public? What’s next, angry nerds are responsible for the DC movie universe bombing? ---
**Author:** ![Garak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d78d45/32.png) [@Garak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garak)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/38 "2019-05-22T05:19:24Z")
Misogynistic nerds are also responsible for the new Ghostbusters flopping ---
**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 22, 2019, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/39 "2019-05-22T13:03:03Z")
> [@Garak](#): > > Misogynistic nerds are also responsible for the new Ghostbusters flopping The mass public not caring about the new Ghostbusters made the new Ghostbusters fall short. But yeah the trolls believe it was them ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275/40 "2019-05-22T13:29:35Z")
Shareholders can attempt to sue. The theory behind far too many class action lawsuits isn’t that one has a winnable case, it’s that one has a case good enough not to get thrown out in the preliminary rounds. Then it is just a case of settling for less than it would cost to defend the case. Lawyers make a good chunk of change, the lead plaintiff(s) get(s) a payday, and everyone else gets a check for $3.14. Legal extortion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-article-explains-ow-hbo-shareholders-could-sue-for-damages-over-got-season-fiasco/834275.md?page=3)