After months of speculation and conjecture, HBO programming president Casey Bloys has confirmed that Game of Thrones will come to an end with Season 8. It has been a lingering question ever since Game of Thrones Season 6 came to its epic conclusion earlier this year. It is stated that showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss have long had this plan in place, and they intend to follow through with it.

This is the first time that someone within the HBO camp outside of Benioff and Weiss have confirmed the show's inevitable conclusion. Speaking from the Television Critics Association's press tour in Beverly Hills on Saturday, Bloys acknowledged the rumors head-on. He had this to say to to Entertainment Weekly, who were in attendance, when asked point blank if Game of Thrones Season 8 would wrap it all up.

"Yes, they have a very specific plan about the number of seasons they want to do. Believe me, as the new [programming executive] coming in, if I could get them to do more. I would take 10 more seasons. But we take their lead on what they think they can do the best version of the show."

As previously stated, Season 8 will be much shorter than the previous 10-episode seasons, with just six episodes. Though, Bloys is quick to point out that the 'final' episode count has not yet been finalized and could change if that needs to happen. Though, he does not specify if this means more or less episodes. The man was then asked if the franchise could continue with the often talked about spin-off. He had this to say.

"We've talked about it. It's something I'm not opposed to, but of course it has to make sense creatively. I'm not sure that [Benioff and Weiss] could really wrap their heads around it when they're just about to start production [on season 7]. It's a pretty intense production, they're about to start production soon. I'm open to it. The guys weren't opposed to it, but there's no concrete plans for it at this point."

Game of Thrones Season 7 is starting production later than usual, to shoot scenes during the actual winter. This means the show will get a summer premiere next year instead of its usual spring launch date. That puts it out of the running for next year's Emmys. This year, the show garnered more nominations than any other series with 26 in the prime time category.