There have been rumors that Game of Thrones would be coming to an end, but it was finally confirmed. On Saturday, Casey Bloys, HBO’s new programming chief, announced the final season in Los Angeles at the Television Critics Association press tour. Bloys said that if he could get them to do more seasons, then he would take 10 more seasons of the hit show.
Guess winter truly IS coming. HBO confirms that Game Of Thrones will end with season 8 @TheAVClub #gameofthrones
— Rocco LaCivita (@RoccoLaCivita) July 31, 2016
HBO confirms #GameofThrones will end with season 8, but a possible spinoff is on the table pic.twitter.com/LQXv7JBmnx
— Filmjournal (@filmjournaler) July 31, 2016
.Breaking: @HBO confirms @GameOfThrones will end after its 8th season to air in 2018. #GameofThrones
— Irish Music Feed (@irishmusicfeed) July 31, 2016
The announcement comes a month after David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, Game of Thrones’ executive producers, said they would like to end the show in 73 hours. Also, when Game of Thrones returns for it seventh season, there will only be seven episodes instead of 10, which is the usual number of episodes per season.
However, this doesn’t mean that there will be no spin-offs of the show. Bloys expressed interest in the idea of a Game of Thrones spin-off. George RR Martin, the author of A Song of Ice and Fire, has supported the idea too.
Bloys said they have already been talking about a Game of Thrones spin-off. He said it made sense creatively, but as of now there are no concrete plans for a spin-off.
Game of Thrones is the longest-running series HBO has ever had, as well as the network’s most watched show. The last season of the show averaged 25 million viewers across numerous platforms, non-linear viewing and DVR viewing.
However, the new season of Game of Thrones is going to be delayed due to winter. The series usually starts airing around March or April, but the eighth season is expected to return next summer.
