Whether you watch Game of Thrones or not, you know what’s going on when it comes to the HBO hit. Coming in on the end of its fourth season, the show that tackles a whole lot of nudity and dragons has become such a smash that it’s surpassed the networks reigning champ, The Sopranos, and has caused a cascade of like minded shows.

James Gandolfini’s Tony Soprano is revered as one of the greatest TV characters of all time, but he has some stiff competition now that Game of Thrones has well, taken the throne when it comes to HBO’s most popular show. It’s surpassed the mafia drama in viewership, and appears to be a bigger topic in pop culture. You couldn’t escape things like the Red Wedding, Daenerys Targaryen and of course the character everyone loved to hate – King Joffrey.

Game of Thrones popularity isn’t just something to note because it’s become bigger than The Sopranos, but because it’s spawned a barrage of other historical based shows across the board that hope to have the same success rate.

Shows like Vikings and Outlander, which is also a book adaptation, take their big budgets and use them towards making their brutal scenes pop just as much as Thrones. Outlander’s executive producer Diana Gabaldon said to Entertainment Weekly the HBO drama, “definitely opened the door and showed that fantasy and genre material has a strong audience on premium cable.”