Game Of Thrones Confirms Season 8 In 2019, Reveals Final Episode Directors

Winter may be here, but the final season of Game of Thrones isn't. It has been announced that Season 8 of Game of Thrones will debut in 2019, though a specific date has yet to be announced.

In its announcement, HBO says, "The epic fantasy series Game of Thrones will return for its six-episode, eighth and final season in 2019." The network also revealed the directors for the final six episodes: David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, David Nutter, and Miguel Sapochnik. Per usual, the season will also be written by Weiss and Benioff, along with Bryan Cogman and Dave Hill.

As for when in 2019 the series will return, Seasons 1-6 all premiered in March or April on HBO, while Season 7 debuted this past July. If HBO follows either of those premiere windows, that will mark over a year-and-a-half since the previous season ended. That will be the longest gap between seasons in the show's entire run.

As for what comes next, after the final Game of Thrones episode has aired, HBO is still developing potential spinoffs. As of September, as many as five different concepts were being explored to keep the Game of Thrones universe alive on HBO. Whether any of them will make it to series remains to be seen.

However, given that Amazon is developing a Lord of the Rings show, chances are HBO will want to stay in the fantasy game as long as it can.