Game of Thrones Season Seven will Have Seven Episodes
According to a director in the sixth season, the next season of Game of Thrones will only feature seven episodes.
It’s getting down to the wire for Game of Thrones. The series has, in a few ways, surpassed the books. The show has been on for six years so far, and it’s time to look toward the end. Originally the current season was to be the penultimate, but a rather desperate HBO convinced the team to stay on for eight full seasons.
It was originally rumored that the final two seasons would have fewer episodes than the preceding ones, though there wasn’t much to go on until now. Director Jack Bender sat down with Vanity Fair to talk about, among other things, “The Door,” and had an interesting answer when asked if he’d be back for season seven:
"I don’t know the answer to that. They’re only doing seven [episodes], and they’ve got their regulars who have done it forever."
More from HBO
- HBO expects House of the Dragon season 2 release in summer 2024
- HBO delays three hit shows to 2025 but one big show is still coming in 2024
- Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty will end its run on HBO
- Winning Time season 2, episode 7 recap: “What Is and What Should Never Be”
- Winning Time season 2, episode 6 recap: “Beat L.A.”
That’s the first semi-official conformation that season seven won’t have a full ten episodes. It’s not uncommon for shows to have truncated seasons, especially near the end. Some attempt the opposite, like The Sopranos (21 episodes in the final season) and Breaking Bad (16.) Game of Thrones was envisioned as a seven season series, and now that it’s been stretched out to eight there is barely enough material to go around.
HBO could have ordered a slightly longer seventh season to accommodate, but it’s in their best interest to extend Game of Thrones for as long as possible. Outside of this piece of juicy info, the interview goes into Bender’s other work as well as it’s like to shoot Game of Thrones. And no, he doesn’t have the answers to the questions about Bran’s visions.
Next: Why isn't Six Feet Under a classic?
At this point it’s all but confirmed by HBO that the final two seasons of Game of Thrones will feature less episodes. It will be interesting to see what a shortened season looks like.