Ever since it was announced that HBO’s Game of Thrones would be ending following its eighth season, fans have wondered just how many episodes they’d have left to spend in their favorite fantasy land. While nothing was confirmed at the outset, it seems that the preconceived notion that the final two season would total 13 episodes is indeed true.
The penultimate season was revealed to span seven episodes earlier this year, three less than the usual format often, which leaves only six episodes for Season 8 of the series. While there will be fewer episodes, the runtime will be the same at just about an hour, with the possibility to go over becoming more likely as the series goes on.
When all’s said and done, the total episode count for the series will end at 73 episodes, which has apparently been Weiss and Benioff’s plan all along. According to a report by EW, the showrunners are currently writing the final season amid post-production for Season 7, which premieres in July.
The hype surrounding Season 7 is at an all time high as well currently, as its first trailer set a record as the most-watched online trailer in TV history, garnering 61 million views in its first 24 hours. The trailer showed off Dany’s fully grown Dragons, as well as the coming threat of the White Walkers to the Seven Kingdoms.
But HBO is far from done with Westeros and it’s merry band of misfits, as the series creator George R.R. Martin’s confirmed recently that there are upwards to five different spin-offs currently in the works. While the subject matter hasn’t been confirmed, Max Borenstein, Jane Goldman, Brian Helgeland, and Carly Wray have all been signed on as writers for the projects.
It’s certainly an exciting time to be a Game of Thrones fan, with two seasons left of the show, a lot of possible option to explore with the spinoffs, and Season 7 set to premiere July 16.
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