how many seasons will GoT go on for?

[Stannis the Wight]

Yeah I could see them also splitting the final season kinda like Sopranos and Breaking Bad.

TWOW will need two seasons I get the feeling that there will be a lot of story progression just like ASOS

[oprahnoodlemantra]

We already know of two battles that will be in TWOW: the battle for at Winterfell between Stannis and the Bolton's and the battle in Meereen. Those will happen fairly early in the book and it's also been hinted that there will be a battle in Oldtown. In addition, there will probably be a battle at the Wall between the Watch and the Wildlings. That's 2 definite battles and 2 possible battles. The show will definitely need to split TWOW....battles are costly.

[tom_saxon]

HBO is pretty predictable, but also very cold. They're not afraid of shivving die-hard fans between the ribs and leaving us for dead. They did it to me on Rome and Deadwood, I wouldn't be surprised if they did it again. As long as Game of Thrones is making money and keeping people interested, it'll likely go on... Probably. Rome was still doing well and they just panicked because of how expensive it was to produce. Game of Thrones doesn't look too cheap, either, which worries me. I know True Blood is just garbage and on season six, but True Blood looks a lot less expensive. Modern settings, modern clothes, bit of CGI... nothing like the world-building undertaking of Game of Thrones. Entourage went long, too, but again, modern and hyper popular. Game of Thrones is closer to Rome... so it worries me.

I totally agree with this. I would not be shocked if it was canceled after season 3. By the looks of it, production and cast costs are only going to grow exponentially. If HBO's profit does not also grow exponentially, it will be canceled. And there is no reason to expect it to grow that much more. The series is nearly maxed out in terms of popularity, and will probably peak at season 3 (if it has not already). The HBO number crunchers will (as they always do, as any business does) look at which products are bringing in the least profit and then will do away with them. Sorry but thats business, and for as much as HBO has aspired to art, it is really just a business. I am simply happy the show introduced me to this utterly fantastic series of books and will read all of them and continue to watch the show until it gets canceled.

[Khal-a-bunga]

I totally agree with this. I would not be shocked if it was canceled after season 3. By the looks of it, production and cast costs are only going to grow exponentially. If HBO's profit does not also grow exponentially, it will be canceled. And there is no reason to expect it to grow that much more. The series is nearly maxed out in terms of popularity, and will probably peak at season 3 (if it has not already). The HBO number crunchers will (as they always do, as any business does) look at which products are bringing in the least profit and then will do away with them. Sorry but thats business, and for as much as HBO has aspired to art, it is really just a business. I am simply happy the show introduced me to this utterly fantastic series of books and will read all of them and continue to watch the show until it gets canceled.

Executives at HBO have publicly stated that canceling Rome and Deadwood was a mistake. Game of Thrones, for the foreseeable future, is in no danger of being cancelled. It is their third most popular series ever domestically, and the most popular they've ever had world-wide. The DVD/Blu-Ray sales for season one nearly recouped the entire budget of that season, alone.

Look no further than how they've handled Treme and Enlightened for an idea of their plans going forward. Two shows that would've been cancelled (or not greenlit at all) on any other network, and they were both renewed (Treme having recently been renewed for a FOURTH and final season). Obviously they don't have the same kind of budget concerns that GoT does, but it is telling of their approach to their series.

And GoT is nowhere near "maxed out" popularity wise, as I'm sure we'll all see when season three premieres to series high ratings (and, just to be clear, even those numbers matter relatively little to HBO since they have no advertisers - total viewing numbers are much more important).

So I wouldn't really worry about the show until it gets to the point where it has caught up with Martin.

[ghost23]

Game of Thrones isn't lacking in popularity, it all just depends on how well HBO can turn that popularity into profit for them. They have a huge worldwide audience, but the reality is that the majority of the people outside the US just pirate the show because there is no actual legal means for them to watch the show as it airs (I'm mainly talking about Australia here where its the most pirated show ever). I really don't see any reason why they can't air it maybe a day or two later rather than weeks or months because if it aired sooner, more people would pay for it.

[CoolOff]

HBO are launching a streaming service in Scandinavia this fall, for about $12/month. The interest is pretty big actually, almost 100k followers on Facebook alone and it's not even launched yet.

As you say, one of the biggest selling points they're pushing is the episodes being available the next day (finally!). I actually think that if you give people a way to enjoy media that's as easy and fast as piracy, they have no problem paying for it. Just look at Spotify, they must have like 5% of Sweden subscribed to their service!

[tom_saxon]

Executives at HBO have publicly stated that canceling Rome and Deadwood was a mistake. Game of Thrones, for the foreseeable future, is in no danger of being cancelled. It is their third most popular series ever domestically, and the most popular they've ever had world-wide. The DVD/Blu-Ray sales for season one nearly recouped the entire budget of that season, alone.

Look no further than how they've handled Treme and Enlightened for an idea of their plans going forward. Two shows that would've been cancelled (or not greenlit at all) on any other network, and they were both renewed (Treme having recently been renewed for a FOURTH and final season). Obviously they don't have the same kind of budget concerns that GoT does, but it is telling of their approach to their series.

And GoT is nowhere near "maxed out" popularity wise, as I'm sure we'll all see when season three premieres to series high ratings (and, just to be clear, even those numbers matter relatively little to HBO since they have no advertisers - total viewing numbers are much more important).

So I wouldn't really worry about the show until it gets to the point where it has caught up with Martin.

Well you seem well informed so I'll go with what your saying and keep my fingers crossed. Just difficult to not still have a really bitter taste in y mouth after deadwood and rome. It really amazes me how HBO can produce the equivlent of multiple top-notch movies every season. The only thing they seemed to mess where big budgets are concerned is gettng over their heads where epic features are concerned.

[Zabuza]

Then, isn't it better to be realistic about it and try to give a closure to the series in 7 seasons maximun? ;)

The other interesting questions would be... how many seasons SHOULD the series ideally have in your opinion? If you could choose an ideal number of seasons regardless of the ratings... I'd probably also choose around 7 seaons. I think streching it any longer would damage the story.

As many seasons as it takes. Will suck if it turns out to be an incomplete series.

[seppuku]

Martin won't live to see the series finished. HBO somehow ends up with the IP after a long legal battle. In season 13 Ros ends up on the Iron Throne via LF with zombie Aton as a husband.

[Peptalk]

If they for some reason end up unable to see the series through the entirety of the story (too expensive, dropping viewers, actors committing to other projects et c et c) I assume they at least would consider togive it a proper ending through the large screen.

[Jamie's left hand]

There will be 10 seasons - a decade of television - a century of episodes!

Unless viewing drops, but i think casting will be fine as there are always new characters and old ones dyeing

[Tall-Talker]

I may be wrong but big budget HBO programs have never gone past six or seven seasons.

Like others have said it's economics. The further they go in the series the bigger the cast (more of the budget goes to pay actors) and more locations (more money for production set-ups).

And maybe just maybe there might be the all too often episode in where the regular cast members ask for a pay raise.

I see them making A Storm of Swords and then cancelling.

[aFeastForDragons]

I can't see them continuing on after Storm of Swords. The finale if they they stick to the final chapters of the book will be the best television episode/moment ever made if they pull it off right.

From AFFC and ADWD on the plot just gets to big. Characters disappear or are rumored dead for long periods of times. Several new main and side characters start appearing rapidly. More locations and cities are added. On there limited budget its going to be hard to pull off.

[Pinkie Baelish]

The show could do without most of the Dornish plots, to be honest. Especially Quentyn. I think the whole subplot with Arianne trying to crown Myrcella is also a bit unnecessary.

Even then, I predict ratings will fall by the time we get to AFFC/ADWD. It would be just like the books, where the whole plot becomes incredibly convoluted with way too many characters for a TV audience to care about. Having so many different plots can work in a book, not so much in a TV series however. Also, I don't think the big twist of another Targaryen being alive would appeal to the audience, since many are so emotionally invested in Daenerys. The whole Aegon storyline was a mistake on George's part, IMHO.

Also, they're going to need a massive increase in budget for the battles and multiple locations where the show is filmed. Add the cost of hiring new actors, and it's going to be incredibly expensive for HBO if they can't come up with a way to increase revenue in order to cover the costs.

[Pinkie Baelish]

The alternative is to somehow be able to make more episodes per season. If they had about 12-15 per season, they can keep the various subplots going at a decent pace, instead of cramming about 10 different arcs in 10 episodes. But for this, I'm guessing they'll need a lot more funds, or reduce the chance of having on-screen battles.

[GoodGuyA]

Five seasons are in the bag, I think. Third season is undoubtedly going to be a big success, and that will carry into season four. The biggest thing that I think could knock GoT out is a competing series, but there really isn't anything at the moment. HBO is such a huge name and GoT has become such a huge sensation to let people indulge in their inner fantasy that it's come into the market at the right time to be sustainable. Not to mention that they've created some great report with Ireland, Iceland, and Croatia which will make the support grow even greater. You really can't put it in the same air as other HBO dramas, because its appeal is entirely unique (plus, it's a limited series which has become a cultural event).

Also:

The show could do without most of the Dornish plots, to be honest. Especially Quentyn. I think the whole subplot with Arianne trying to crown Myrcella is also a bit unnecessary.

Topic whoring, but relevant:

[teemo]

if it keeps doing this well im going with 8-10 seasons. so they better slow down a little. if they move past GRRM they'd probably just start making up crap. but.....it could also totally drop in ratings after ASOS. so I'm going to guess 5.

[House Cearl]

Maybe they're gonna do a hiatus or go with GRRM's 5 year plan he had for the books. Like everyone said I can't see this show lasting 8-10 seasons. I've never heard of an HBO show going that long....

[The Dragon has three heads]

The alternative is to somehow be able to make more episodes per season. If they had about 12-15 per season, they can keep the various subplots going at a decent pace, instead of cramming about 10 different arcs in 10 episodes. But for this, I'm guessing they'll need a lot more funds, or reduce the chance of having on-screen battles.

I've been thinking about this and it's actually a great way to KEEP the books from catching up. More content across 2 books at a time. With certain arcs given more or less time dependent on where they sit in relation to the source materials ending point.

This does present a problem for actors growing too old, getting sick, having children, breaking contracts etc etc but should give them at least 4-5 years to play with.

Australias prolific downloads of this show should show their networks and hbo that theres an oppertunity there. And should do something about it.

[Tori Targaryen]

I am more interested in there being seasons to cover all content of the books. My fingers are truly crossed that by some miracle, GRRM manages to get the next two books finished before the series catches up.... Please, please, please.