Following the announcement earlier today that Game of Thrones Season 6 will premiere on Sunday, April 24 comes word that HBO is close to renewing the popular series for a seventh and eighth season.
According to EW, HBO programming president Michael Lombardo said at the Television Critics Association press tour party in Pasadena on Thursday night that the HBO is in deep talks to bring back the show for another two seasons. It wasn’t clear if the eighth season would be the last.
The move is expected to involve new deals for the cast as the show’s talent is only optioned through seven seasons at this point.
Last summer, Lombardo said there would likely be eight seasons. “The question is, ‘How much beyond seven are we going to do?’ Obviously we’re shooting six now, hopefully discussing seven. [Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] feel like there’s two more years after six. I would always love for them to change their minds, but that’s what we’re looking at right now,” he said.
Based on the popular book series “A Song of Ice and Fire,” by George R.R. Martin, the hit Emmy-winning fantasy series chronicles an epic struggle for power in a vast and violent kingdom. The ensemble cast for the fifth season included Emmy and Golden Globe winner Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Aidan Gillen, Kit Harington, Diana Rigg, Natalie Dormer, Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner.
David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Carolyn Strauss, Frank Doelger and Bernadette Caulfield are the executive producers. The co-executive producers are Guymon Casady, Vince Gerardis and George R.R. Martin.
