Welcome to ‘Ren Faire’: Lance Oppenheim’s HBO Docuseries Follows a Festival Trapped in a Real-Life Game of Thrones

variety.com:

Ren Faire,” HBO’s new docuseries set to air in the network’s coveted Sunday-evening slot during the two weeks ahead of “House of the Dragon” Season 2. “It sounds like that’s what their calculus was, to put it as close to that show as possible,” series director Lance Oppenheim says, laughing. “Ren Faire” may have the knights and knaves of “Thrones,” but the power dynamics running through it more closely resemble “Succession.” Produced by Josh and Benny Safdie’s Elara Pictures, the three-episode doc centers on George Coulam, the iconoclastic octogenarian founder of the “nation’s largest Renaissance theme park,” which welcomes about half a million guests annually to carouse among costumed entertainers while munching turkey legs and cheering on jousters.

The festival generates enough revenue in its two-month season to justify a year-round staff. Not only that, but it essentially has its own borders and police force operating within Todd Mission, where Coulam has been mayor for decades.

But the Oz-like overlord says he’s ready to cash out on his one-of-a-kind creation, vetting a select few of his flamboyant employees to take over. “Functionally, he actually is a king.

He’s created a real-life fiefdom,” explains Oppenheim, who was surprised by how swiftly he gained access to Coulam when he began filming the fest. “The first thing he said to me was ‘I used to play the king, but now I’m a horny old man.