Subject: Throne of Glass TV Adaptation - Showrunner's Notes Meeting #1

From: Alison Haselden, Showrunner
To: Department Heads, Production Team
Subject: Welcome to the Throne of Glass TV Adaptation!

Hey Team,

Welcome to our very first showrunner’s notes meeting for the Throne of Glass TV adaptation! It’s happening, people! I’m Alison Haselden, your showrunner for season one, and I’m honored to be going on this incredible journey with all of you.

Let’s do a quick roll call:

• ADs? ✅

• Art Department? ✅

• Camera? ✅

• Locations? ✅

• Casting? ✅

• Wardrobe, Hair & Makeup? ✅

Perfect. And we’re looping in electric and grip next weekend? Great. Let’s dive in.

Messaging & Tone Overview

Through-line themes we’re exploring:

• Identity

• Responsibility

• What we owe ourselves vs. what we owe each other

• Power—both political and personal

This is, at its heart, a coming-of-age story. Celaena is young, powerful, and carrying enormous weight on her shoulders, but she’s also growing—let’s make sure we feel that messy transition from late teens into early adulthood.

Stakes & Tone

If Throne of Glass were a soup, the ingredients would be:

• A dash of The Hunger Games (competition to become the King’s Champion and stay alive in the process)

• A spoonful of Gladiator (slave to hero arc)

• A generous pour of Game of Thrones (high stakes political power plays, historical-rooted grit)

Art Department, breathe, I can hear your anxiety from here. I’m talking vibes, not visual carbon copies. We need high stakes, visual storytelling, and immersive world-building.

World Development: Locations, Set Dec, Props

Locations:

• Lots of interiors—palace scenes = mix of studio & locations.

• Exteriors: Let’s explore filming in Ireland, Bulgaria, maybe Spain?

• Terrasen: Must feel significantly more lush & green than Adarlan’s darker city aesthetic.

Set Decoration:

• Rooted in medieval historical foundations.

• Stark contrast between palace luxury vs. city streets & Endovier’s slave camp.

• Minor magical elements will emerge in secret passages and tombs this season, more to come in future seasons.

• Reign and Outlander are great references: link

Camera & Cinematography:

• Medium shot heavy to get full access to actor’s eyes and emotions.

• Lots of hero shots as we see what Celaena is capable of during the trials of the tournament.

• Strategic symmetry and asymmetry when setting up shots to add emotional and psychological insight to our character’s inner worlds. Are they balanced? Are they trustworthy?

• Cinematography inspiration from Game of Thrones: link

• Coloring & lighting are crucial—think Outlander lighting: link

  • We want the world to be moody and seductive, with secrets and betrayals lurking around the corner. However, we don’t want to fall into the trap of everything being so dark the viewers can’t see what’s going on.

  • Let’s play a lot with the shadows and “too-bright” light of our castle made of glass. We can cast very specific shadow work in these scenes to hint to our characters natures.

Wardrobe, Hair & Makeup

• Not strictly period-accurate but historically inspired.

• Different regions should have distinct cultural styles (GOT did this well).

• Rich textures, intricate fabrics—think lived-in, not costume-y.

• Celaena’s undercover look vs. her true self: NOT frilly = undercover, masculine = real self. She loves beautiful things but is always practical.

Scoring

• Would love to have tastes of our score rolling out in tandem with production so the cast can be immersed in the energy of the world of Throne of Glass.

• Hans Zimmer (Pirates of the Caribbean) = big inspo. Let’s talk to his people ASAP or pull comps.

• Joel Sunny. The internet LOVES him and he’s got fantastic violin-based tunes. Let’s keep him in mind for the ACOTAR adaptation, yeah?

Acting Style & Casting

• Grounded, gritty, raw, vulnerable. No extra gloss or melodrama.

• Baseline dialect: UK-based but not hyper-specific—regional accents will differentiate cultures.

• Tension should be palpable. We’ll shoot for maximum chemistry, even with minimal physical touch.

Key Scenes & Visual Approach

Opening Scene: Celaena’s Escape Attempt

• Adjusting the timeline slightly—Dorian & Chaol arrive during an escape attempt, witnessing Celaena in action before making their proposition. Higher stakes, more action upfront. OR We cut between the men discussing their plan to use Celaena in the King’s Champion competition and Celaena’s escape attempt.

Yulemas Ball

• Grand, opulent, but DARK—no Cinderella aesthetics.

• Reign, GOT, Outlander group party scenes for reference.

• NOT Bridgerton-level gloss.

Final Duel

• Visual contrast between what Celaena sees vs. what onlookers see.

• Dementor-like creatures but more spectral and unnerving.

• POV shifts between Chaol, Celaena, and Nehemia (who sees the magic too) to establish that not all the characters are aware that Celeaena is fighting a battle on multiple fronts.

next steps

All department heads for the Throne of Glass TV show, please watch the full video & submit your feedback by next Friday.

XO,

Your Showrunner,

Alison Haselden

This episode of the Showrunner Notes series is inspired by the novel Throne of Glass (and subsequent books in the series) by Sarah J. Maas. Other notable projects referenced in this episode include: Game of Thrones, Reign , Outlander, The Hunger Games, Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean, Bridgerton, Cinderella, Harry Potter, A Court of Thorns and Roses **Note: this video is satire and intended for entertainment purposes only. All rights reserved to the owners of the IP mentioned. All creative strategy and ideas presented in this video created solely by Alison Haselden.