HBO confirms when 'Game of Thrones' is ending - but it's considering a spin-off
According to Entertainment Weekly, HBO's new programming president Casey Bloys confirmed that "Game of Thrones" will end with its eighth season.
Fans might think this is old news because showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss have been quite vocal about their plans for the series, but this is the first official word from the network head.
"Yes, they have a very specific plan about the number of seasons they want to do," Bloys told EW at the Television Critics Association's press tour. "Believe me, as the new [programming executive] coming in, if I could get them to do more, I would take 10 more seasons. But we take their lead on what they think they can do the best version of the show."
But that doesn't mean HBO will never visit Westeros again. When a show is as successful as "Game of Thrones," talk of spin-offs is always around.
"We've talked about it," Bloys said. "It's something I'm not opposed to, but of course it has to make sense creatively. ... [Benioff and Weiss] weren't opposed to it, but there's no concrete plans for it at this point."
The show's seventh season has been delayed and will debut in summer 2017 - instead of its typical spring start - because filming needs to take place during the winter months, seeing as winter has finally come to Westeros. The seventh season has also been shortened from its normal 10-episode count to seven.
Bloys also confirmed to EW that the delay will mean the show is out of the running for next year's Emmy Awards, though he said he isn't that concerned.