The reaction to the announcement from two "Game of Thrones" producers that their next series will be about an alternate reality where slavery never ended was met with swift and overwhelming disapproval on Twitter, with fans suggesting the revival of just-canceled historic WGN series "Underground" instead.

David Benioff and D.B. Weiss defended the show to Empire") -- will be co-producing as well as writing the show with them. The foursome talked to Vulture about the project and why they wanted to do it.

Benioff said he's always been fascinated with the Civil War and the "what if's" if the war had gone a different way, but added he'll be approaching the "real" and "raw" material in "Confederate" in a very different way from "Game of Thrones."

Weiss explained, "It goes without saying slavery is the worst thing that ever happened in American history. It's our original sin as a nation. And history doesn't disappear. That sin is still with us in many ways... It's an ugly and a painful history, but we all think this is a reason to talk about it, not a reason to run from it. And this feels like a potentially valuable way to talk about it."

Malcolm Spellman anticipated the backlash, saying, "You're dealing with weapons-grade material here."

Tramble Spellman said she does understand the negative reaction by from the black community: "I do understand their concern," but adds she wishes they had waited until after the show actually airs.

Spellman concluded with: "What people need to recognize is, and it makes me really want to get into the show: The shit is alive and real today. I think people have got to stop pretending that slavery was something that happened and went away... [this is] a story that allows us to now dramatize it in a more tangible matter."

Whether this changes people's minds about the controversial premise remains to be seen, but some people are keeping a "wait and see" attitude.

Then again, both Spellmans deleted their accounts on Twitter the day after the announcement: