'Game of Thrones' Officially Delayed, Shortened

For quite some time, speculation around Game of Thrones has predicted that the next (and probably final) two seasons of the series would be shorter than previous seasons. Recently, the show's producers also hinted that the start of next season could come later than usual because of delays in production. This week HBO confirmed both rumors. The next season will indeed start later than previous seasons, and it will consist of a third fewer episodes than usual.

Producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss recently told the UFC Unfiltered podcast that they're pushing back filming from its typical summer start date until later in the year in order to take advantage of gloomier fall weather. That throws off the series' entire timeline, and HBO confirmed that season seven will debut sometime in the summer of 2017, not in the spring as has been the norm thus far.

The network also confirmed that season seven will be made up of only seven episodes instead of the usual ten. This is in line with the vision of how much story there is left to tell that has been described by Benioff and Weiss. That plan would also suggest that the eighth season, which is likely the series' last, could consist of as few as six episodes, but neither HBO nor the producers has mentioned anything officially about that season yet, including episode count, release date, or its potential status as the final season.