"Game of Thrones" renewed for seasons 5 and 6

Watch the "Throne," indeed.

HBO has renewed "Game of Thrones" for a fifth and sixth season, just days after the hit series returned for its fourth outing.

"'Game of Thrones' is a phenomenon like no other," said Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming, in announcing the news Tuesday. "[Series creators/executive producers] David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, along with their talented collaborators, continue to surpass themselves, and we look forward to more of their dazzling storytelling."

Season 4 of "Game of Thrones" premiered Sunday night -- drawing in record ratings and crashing HBO's mobile platform, HBO Go. The episode drew a series-high 6.6 million viewers for its initial airing, making it the network's most-watched program since the finale of "The Sopranos" in 2007 (11.9 million). With subsequent replays, per HBO, that number was pushed up to 8.2 million viewers overall.