The 'Game of Thrones' season 7 finale broke a new record

The season finale of the seventh season of HBO's "Game of Thrones" set a series record in ratings on Sunday night with a total of 16.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen data.

The total viewership figure includes those who viewed the episode as it aired or in the same night on HBO Go or HBO Now.

The live broadcast itself attracted 12.1 million viewers, which makes it the most-watched episode in series history, according to Variety. 12.1 million viewers is also a 36% increase over the 8.9 million who watched the season six finale in 2016.

In addition to being HBO's most popular show, this season of "Game of Thrones" has already a tremendous shelf life on the network's on-demand services.

HBO told The New York Times that each episode of season seven is averaging more than 30 million eyes in delayed viewing, which is, on average, eight million more viewers than the last season's episodes reached.

The eighth and final season of "Game of Thrones" may not premiere until 2019 due to its production schedule. The season could reportedly feature six feature-length episodes.