Jane Espenson

A "Battlestar"-"Buffy"-"Game of Thrones" connection? Be still my nerd heart!

HBO has confirmed that Jane Espenson, a "Caprica" executive producer who has also penned scripts for "Dollhouse," "Battlestar Galactica," "Buffy" and a host of other cool shows, is one of the writers for the TV adaptation of "Game of Thrones," which was recently greenlit by HBO. Espenson will write the sixth episode of "Thrones’" first season as a freelancer.

GOT Also writing single episodes of the drama: Bryan Cogman, a script coordinator for the show, who’ll pen the fourth episode of the season, and George R.R. Martin himself. Martin, of course, wrote the book series on which "Game of Thrones" is based and has been closely involved in the project since it was announced. Martin is one of the show’s executive producer and a former writer for TV show such as "Beauty and the Beast" and "Twilight Zone."

The rest of the 10-episode first season of "Game of Thrones" will be written by David Benioff and Chicago’s own D.B. Weiss, the team who scripted the pilot and have overseen the television adaptation from its inception.

The pilot for "Thrones," which stars Lena Headey, Sean Bean, Jennifer Ehle, Peter Dinklage, Jason Momoa and Mark Addy, was shot last fall. Production resumes in Northern Ireland in June and the series is expected to debut in the first half of 2011. People are being hired for various production jobs now, so if you live in Northern Ireland, this is your chance to be a set decorator or "standby chippie," whatever that is.

As always, for more news regarding "Thrones" and Martin’s "A Song of Ice and Fire" book series, be sure to check out Winter Is Coming, Westeros and Tower of the Hand. Here’s a link to all my previous "Game of Thrones" coverage.

ONTD, if you’re thinking of taking this post and reproducing it in its entirety on your site, don’t. I’ll just send a DCMA notice and you’ll have to take it down again. Don’t.