Game of Thrones won’t return until summer 2017—a delay from its typical premiere in March or April—and season seven will consist of seven episodes—down from its usual 10, HBO revealed on Monday.

The timing means the series will miss the 2017 Emmy nomination eligibility window, which requires the majority of a season’s episodes air by May 31. Game of Thrones received 23 nominations last week for the 2016 award ceremony, marking the third year in a row that the drama has led the pack, and helping to position HBO as the top-nominated network.

RELATED: ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘People vs. OJ Simpson’ Lead Emmy Nominations

With winter officially in swing on the show, HBO had previously revealed that warmer-than-expected weather in filming locations would delay the upcoming season.

RELATED: ‘Winter is Here,’ but That Means ‘Game of Thrones’ Won’t Be For A While

This was further confirmed Monday by HBO Programming President Casey Bloys in a statement:

“Now that winter has arrived on Game of Thrones, executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss felt that the storylines of the next season would be better served by starting production a little later than usual, when the weather is changing. Instead of the show’s traditional spring debut, we’re moving the debut to summer to accommodate the shooting schedule.”

Season seven filming locations include Northern Ireland, Spain and Iceland. Directors will include Mark Mylod, Jeremy Podeswa, Matt Shakman and Alan Taylor.

Season eight is also expected to be a shortened season, with between six to eight episodes.

Game of Thrones is HBO’s most-watched series ever, with an average of 25.1 million viewers per episode tuning in during season six, reports The Hollywood Reporter. The audience has grown steadily, up from 20.2 million viewers per episode in 2015. It’s also the network’s longest-running show currently on air.

“These record audiences reflect the options we have built into our business model over the last few years. HBO Chairman and CEO Richard Plepler said Monday in a statement. “Combining the convenience of HBO On Demand and HBO GO with the subscription flexibility of HBO NOW, our programming is being exposed to an ever growing audience.”

READ MORE: The Hollywood Reporter, Variety

Tags:


  Save as PDF