After debuting to record ratings in Season 2, HBO's hit fantasy series Game of Thrones has been renewed for Season 3.

George R.R. Martin's book A Storm of Swords, the third in his "Song of Ice and Fire" series and considered the best of the bunch by most fans, will be split into two halves, with the first half serving as the basis of Game of Thrones Season 3, and the second half serving as the basis for a forth season, if the show makes it that far.

This particular book contains many twists and turns throughout its action-packed 1,216 pages. Producers felt there was no way to fit it all into one season. Executive producer David Benioff had this to say in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly.

"As George and all his fans have said for a long time, there's no way to do it in a single season, so it's being broken into two. We're still kind of figuring out exactly what goes where. We don't want it to feel like a two-part season... From the beginning we'd always prayed we'd get to Season 3 at least because, you know, two of our favorite scenes from the entire saga are in Season 3."

HBO president of Programming Michael Lombardo had this to say about the renewal.

"Series creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss raised our expectations for the second season - and then surpassed them. We are thrilled by all the viewer and media support we've received for the series, and can't wait to see what [they] have in store for next season."

Game of Thrones returns this Sunday, April 15th, with the all-new Episode 2.03: What is Dead May Never Die.