Looks like the Lord of Light won’t be resurrecting the world’s favorite show after 2018.
After some speculation that was a chance at longevity, HBO confirmed this evening that season eight of the popular TV series Game of Thrones will end upon the last episode of season eight, BBC News reports. This news will lead to groans, maybe sighs of exasperation and defeat, all around the world; the fantasy-drama series has won as many hearts as it has broken in its six years of airtime, and this case will be no exception. Relatively-new HBO programming chief Casey Bloys announced the bittersweet news at his conference at the TCA today.
Bloys did want to let the press and fans know that the decision was not really his. “I think [the show-runners, D.B. Weiss and David Benioff] have a very specific plan about the number of seasons they want to do,” the programming chief said. “If I could get them to do more, I would take ten seasons but we want to take their lead with what they could do and what the best version of the show is.”
That “best version” will also, of course, remain unseen until sometime next summer. Bloys reconfirmed at the TCA conference that the seventh season, which normally drops towards the end of March or all the way to the end of April, won’t be peeking its wintry head until well after its usual time. That also means, for the first time in years, the blockbuster series–which, for a third year in a row, has nabbed more Emmy nominations than any contenders and comedy/variety category-listers alike–will not be eligible for the 2017 Emmys.
Bloys says that he hopes that HBO’s newer shows, like The Night Of, will help make up for Game of Thrones’ Drogon-sized absence, reports The Hollywood Reporter, but regardless, there won’t be a Westerosi table next year.
Bloys also reconfirmed that the seventh season will, indeed, be shorter than all of its predecessors. 2017’s season will run for eight episodes. The programming chief refused to confirm whether or not the eighth season will run similarly.
There might be those sighing a breath of relief. After all, Daenerys is crossing the Narrow Sea as of the sixth season’s finale, and as the name suggests, the sea is narrow–when her dragons lay waste to enemies, human and White Walker alike, what else is there to see?
There was one gold glint in the gloomy sea, however. Bloys hinted at the possibility of a Game of Thrones spin-off, despite previous claims that the company had no intention of continuing the show past its final finale.
Said Bloys, “We’ve talked about it. It’s not something I’m opposed to but it has to make sense creatively. I’m not sure the guys can wrap their heads around it when they are about to start production.”
He then continued to say, “We’re open to it; the guys aren’t opposed to it but there’s no concrete plans right now.”