Game of Thrones’ final season was shortened to reduce production time between Season 7 and 8

There has been a lot of debate about Game of Thrones’ last season and the ending. While perceptions vary, the outrage was tremendous. It has divided the fans into those who were happy with how things turned out and others who were outraged. Recently, a lot more information has come out from behind the scenes of Game of Thrones, that shed light on what really happened during the controversial finale.

Game of Thrones producer on why Season 8 was shortened

James Andrew Miller’s book Tinderbox: HBO’s Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers has revealed a lot about the final season controversy of Game of Thrones, which also details several interviews with major players from HBO itself. Game of Thrones producer Carolyn Strauss explained in the book why it wasn’t possible for the show to end in any other way:

“The guys [David & Dan] knew where they wanted to end up story-wise. I know there was a lot of controversy about the ending, but the truth is, given the amount of time it took to produce those last six episodes, I don’t know how else it could have been done. I don’t think there was actually a physical way we could have done more episodes without creating another season. It took a year and a half to make that last season. You didn’t want to let so much time though between the seventh and eighth season.”

Credit: Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images

Why HBO went ahead with David Benioff and D.B. Weiss’ plan?

The book mentions HBO execs were originally against the idea. Well, why did they go ahead with it? Strauss explains, “Dan and David earned the last word. The guys had delivered on the show for a number of years, the most successful show that HBO ever did. HBO always tries to go with the creators’ instincts. And clearly, in this instance, the guys had earned the right to land the plane however they wanted.”

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