HBO exec confirms Game of Thrones' eighth season will be its last

Game of Thrones will end after its eighth season airs. HBO's president of programming confirmed the end at the Television Critics Association's press tour today.

Casey Bloys told reporters that Game of Thrones' executive producers "have a very specific plan about the number of seasons they want to do," according to Variety.

"If I could get them to do more, I would take 10 seasons," Bloys said. "But we want to take their lead with what they can do and what the best version of the show is."

Variety said Bloys had talks with showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss about a spinoff or other continuation of the franchise but "there are no concrete plans at this point."

Game of Thrones' seventh season will be seven episodes long and will premiere in the summer of 2017, instead of its usual spring debut. HBO attributed the delay to the need to film in cold weather, as winter has finally arrived in the story.