2018 will not bring fans new episodes of Game Of Thrones. This was confirmed by HBO on Thursday, with the network announcing that the eighth and final season of the show will air in 2019. This will be the first year in which there is no new material from the series since first airing in 2011. The possibility of the show taking a year off was hinted by the showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss in the past, but the fans hoped for a better outcome.
HBO didn’t reveal the possible time of the year in which the final season will be aired, but it should be expected in spring, something that was a case with all but one season.
While confirming the 2019 airing date, HBO also shared some info about the directors and writers. Benioff and Weiss will be among the directors of the season, alongside David Nutter and Miguel Sapochnik. Nutter and Sapochnik directed 10 episodes of Game Of Thrones on previous occasions combined and both received Emmy Awards for Best Directing (Nutter for “Mother’s Mercy“, Sapochnik for “Battle of the Bastards“). The showrunners Benioff and Weiss are also the writers of the show’s final season, joining forces with Bryan Cogman and Dave Hill.
Filming for the eight season of the show began on October 23, 2017. Unlike previous seasons, this one will only consist of six episodes, but they will have a longer run time. Also, the material for the final season will be mostly original and based on the guidelines provided by A Song of Ice and Fire writer George R. R. Martin. Martin is currently writing the final novels in the series, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring. It is important to note that the ending of the TV show and the novels might not be the same.
