In a season of television survival, when shows get canceled left and right, fans can rejoice that Game of Thrones isn't going anywhere. HBO announced on Tuesday that the series has been renewed for a fifth and sixth season.
Sunday's season premiere brought in 6.6 million viewers, so without question, HBO has decided to renew the hit series.
"Game of Thrones is a phenomenon like no other," HBO's president of programming, Michael Lombardo, said in a statement. "David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, along with their talented collaborators, continue to surpass themselves, and we look forward to more of their dazzling storytelling."
Once season four is wrapped up, season five is expected to return next spring.
Series co-creators Benioff and Weiss said they would likely put the show to an end after season seven or eight.
"We know there's an end somewhere in the seven- or eight-season zone. It's not something that goes 10, 11—it doesn't just keep on going because it can," Weiss told Vanity Fair. "I think the desire to milk more out of it is what would eventually kill it, if we gave in to that."
"It feels like this is the midpoint for us," Benioff said in an Entertainment Weekly interview. "If we're going to go seven seasons, which is the plan, season four is right down the middle, the pivot point."
Game of Thrones is based on a book series written by George R.R. Martin. Though the book series is not yet complete, the show's creators already know what to expect. Both co-creators have sat down with Martin to discuss the progress of the show's plot, E! News reports.
Game of Thrones airs on HBO, Sundays at 9 p.m.
