Obama’s new TV vices? ‘True Detective,’ ‘Game of Thrones,’ report says

While you’re sitting on the couch watching TV this weekend and feeling like you should be doing something more with your life, take comfort in the fact that the leader of the free world might be doing the exact same thing!

President Obama is scheduled to be at Sunnylands, the Annenberg estate in Rancho Mirage, Calif., for a three-day trip this weekend that includes a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan. But when he’s not doing that, apparently he’s going to be spending part of the time sitting on the couch, powering through his new favorite HBO shows, “Game of Thrones” and “True Detective.”

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According to a report in the New York Times, Obama approached HBO Chief Executive Richard Plepler at a state dinner at the White House on Tuesday night and asked him, “Where is my ‘True Detective’ and ‘Game of Thrones’?” He reportedly suggested to Plepler that the coming weekend would be a good time to watch the shows.

The Times reported that Plepler passed the request for DVDs on to one of his assistants with instructions on how to make sure they end up with Obama.

And being the president, it’s a safe bet that Obama won’t have to settle just for what’s already available. He’ll no doubt be relaxing with the entire first season of “True Detective” (only four episodes have aired for the rest of us) and a lot of the fourth season of “Game of Thrones,” which isn’t scheduled to air until April 6.

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Obama is a noted fan of TV dramas, but one who leaves that procedural stuff by the side of the road. Among his previously reported favorite shows: “The Wire,” “Breaking Bad,” “Homeland” and “House of Cards,” which debuts its second season on Friday.

Surely there’s something appealing to the president about watching “Thrones,” which dramatizes the brutal and sometimes deadly jockeying for power in a fantasy world.

But even if he’s manages to watch all 10 episodes of the new “Game of Thrones” season this weekend, don’t worry too much about spoilers. If the guy can keep the location of Osama bin Laden to himself, surely he can avoid discussing the “Purple Wedding” for a few more months.

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