Game of Thrones Seasons 7, 8 Close to Becoming Official

This year's sixth season of HBO's award-winning Game of Thrones may not be its last. HBO programming president Michael Lombardo said this week at the Television Critics Association winter tour that the network is close to reaching a deal to extend the fantasy series for seasons seven and eight.

As The Hollywood Reporter explains, this would be the second time that HBO has opted for a "dual order." The first time was back in 2014, when HBO ordered seasons five and six.

The site notes that an official announcement of the multi-season renewal is expected "soon." However, it's not yet known if season eight will be the show's last.

That Game of Thrones will extend two more seasons is not much of a surprise, as Lombardo said last summer that he was hopeful the show could stretch to eight seasons. As of last summer,

"[Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] are feeling there's probably two more years after Season 6, that's what we're looking at right now," Lombardo said at the time. "We hope that they would change their mind, but that's how they are feeling now."

The sixth season of Game of Thrones debuts on April 24.

Looking further down the line, Lombardo has also said he's open to anything Benioff and Weiss would want to do with the series, including a spinoff.

In other Game of Thrones news, author George R.R. Martin has delayed the next A Song of Ice and Fire book, The Winds of Winter. This means that, in a rare move, TV viewers will be ahead of readers in some cases.

Martin has not said when the book will be done.

Telltale's video game franchise based on Game of Thrones is unsurprisingly getting a second season, CEO Kevin Bruner confirmed in November. The sixth and final episode in the first season, The Ice Dragon, was released on November 17.