After six seasons of hype, Winter finally came to Game of Thrones at the end of Season 6 — but it might take just as long to end. 2019, to be specific.
In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly about the show’s final stretch and developing spinoffs, HBO programming president Casey Bloys had the following exchange:
EW: So as of now, the final season could air in 2018 and/or in 2019 depending on their needs?
Bloys: Yeah. They have to write the episodes and figure out the production schedule. We’ll have a better sense of that once they get further into the writing.
The seventh and penultimate season is already breaking from the show’s pre-established air pattern. While prior seasons have aired in the spring, Season 7 is airing in the summer. It’s also going to be just seven episodes rather than ten, while the eighth and final season will consist of just six episodes.
In his interview, Bloys also said it’s unlikely all five spinoffs that are in development will come to fruition. He confirmed, however, that any spinoffs will seek to have a different feel from Game of Thrones by choosing different eras in Martin’s world.
“If you only developed one, everything would rest on that one shot. It’s such a special show….” he said. “They’re also looking at different times in the universe and all will have different feels. This increases our odds of finding one that’s unique.”
Earlier in May, George R. R. Martin took to his blog to announce that the two most popular possibilities for prequels were off the table: Robert’s Rebellion or his novellas The Tales of Dunk & Egg.
Game of Thrones Season 7 premieres on July 16, 2017, on HBO. Season 8 will premiere… well, we just don’t know.
