It’s just wrapped its fifth season, but ‘Game Of Thrones’ fans will be pleased to know that their favourite show won’t be ending for a while yet. An HBO network executive has claimed that the medieval fantasy drama is likely to continue for a further three seasons.

Michael Lombardo, president of HBO programming, imparted on Thursday (July 30th) that executives are planning to run with ‘GoT’ for at least seven series, and will discuss with the show’s creators about how much longer they would like to go after that.

Game of ThronesHBO's 'Game of Thrones' is likely to run for three more seasons

“They are feeling two more years after six,” Lombardo stated at a Television Critics Association meeting. He also said he’d be in favour of even more than that (who wouldn’t?), including a prequel, believing that there’s “enormous story material” to be explored to put such a project together.

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The sixth season of ‘Game of Thrones’, the most-watched series in HBO history and based on the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' books by George R.R. Martin, is currently being filmed. The fifth season, which ended earlier this month, was the most popular yet, attracting an average of 20 million viewers by the end of the run as well as 24 Emmy nominations.

However, season five did attract a great deal criticism for some graphically violent scenes, but Lombardo also defended the brutal depictions. “This show has had violence as part of its many threads from first episode,” he said. “There are no two showrunners [David Benioff and D.B. Weiss] more careful about not overstepping what they think the line is.”

Spoiler alert: Lombardo was also asked about the on-screen death of the key character and fan favourite Jon Snow, with some fans speculating that he could come back for the next season. “Dead is dead is dead,” he said, adding “everything I've seen, heard and read.”

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