It's official: Season 8 will be the last for "Game of Thrones."
Casey Bloys, the new programming chief at HBO, told reporters Saturday morning that, as expected, the smash fantasy series based on the novels of George R.R. Martin will be gone after two more seasons.
"If I could get them to do more, I would take 10 seasons," Bloys told reporters at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour in Beverly Hills.
Fans had long speculated that the show might end after season 8. But the network had not confirmed the suspicion until Saturday.
Bloys said that HBO was deferring to the wishes of the showrunners, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
"We want to take their lead with what they could do and what the best version of the show is," Bloys said. Benioff and Weiss had earlier indicated that they envisioned the show wrapping up after eight seasons. The start of season 7 has been delayed due to weather considerations, likely knocking "Game of Thrones" out of the 2017 Emmy race.
After a slow start, "Game of Thrones" has grown into one of most spectacular successes in TV history. The season 6 finale in June drew nearly 9 million total viewers on the night of the premiere, a record for the series. HBO said that season 6 averaged more than 23 million total viewers on all platforms.
