'Game of Thrones' Spin Off Possible

When HBO's programming president Casey Bloys addressed the Television Critic's Association this week, he confirmed the news that Game of Thrones fans had hoped wasn't true. The series, Bloys said, is definitely going to end after its eighth season. He did offer some hope, however, that the GoT universe could live on in a spin-off series even after the original series ends.

Rumors had long been circulating that GoT would be around for only two more shorter-than-usual seasons, and recently the show's producers confirmed that next season, the series' seventh, will consist of only seven episodes instead of the typical ten. Bloys' announcement confirms that the first part of the rumors - the series finale after season eight - is also true, but he didn't confirm the episode count for the eighth season.

When asked whether a spin-off series is in the works, Bloys said that nothing is currently in development but that both HBO and the series' producers are open to the possibility.

"We've talked about it. It's not something I'm opposed to but it has to make sense creatively," Bloys said. "I'm not sure the guys can wrap their heads around it when they are about to start production [on GoT's seventh season]. We're open to it. The guys aren't opposed to it but there's no concrete plans right now."