In a new interview, Game of Thrones bosses Benioff and Weiss preview season 3, talk new characters, and the series’ “sexposition.”

D.B. Weiss and David Benioff have spoken to Mother Jones about the upcoming third season, touching on everything from production woes and angry book fans to what characters they most identify with.

In the interview, Benioff reveals that he relates most to Theon Greyjoy out of all the characters, while Weiss jokes, “Everyone starts the season as a Tyrion, but by the end of production, we’re all Hodors.” On which new character they’re most excited about, they pick Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg).

When asked whether the show could carry on for as much as eight or nine seasons, Benioff and Weiss are optimistic. “We have the opportunity here to tell a coherent story that lasts for 80 hours,” they say. “And while a canvas of that size presents all sorts of storytelling problems, it also allows us to spend more time with these characters we love than we’ll ever get again.”

The showrunners also relate their day-to-day experience of running the show, saying that on a typical day, “We might spend a few hours revising pages, or meeting with directors of upcoming episodes to talk through the scripts, or sitting down with the VFX team or art department to review concept art, or walking over to the costume department with [costumer designer Michele Clapton] to look at her newest creations.”

As such, they stay on top of every area of production, also staying on set all day for particularly key or tricky scenes.

They also try to communicate what it is about Game of Thrones which appeals to such a wide audience of people, saying, “At the end of the day it’s all about the characters. Tyrion Lannister, Arya Stark and the many other compelling characters [are] beloved because they experience the things we all experience; they feel like outsiders even when they’re on the inside. They love people who don’t love them back. They’re afraid of power, they yearn for power, they end up with power in spite of themselves and find themselves liking it.”

Finally, Weiss and Benioff touch on the use of “sexposition” in the show (like when a certain character is relaying important information while two girls are going at it on the bed next to him). Benioff admits that, “Personally, I pay less attention to intricate plot points delivered during sex scenes,” and Weiss adds, “yes, that’s a tricky line to walk. Sex grabs people’s attention. But once it has their attention, it tends not to let go of it.”

Game of Thrones season 3 premieres March 31 at 9/8c on HBO.