'Game of Thrones' Season 8 Episode Lengths Reportedly Revealed

The final six episodes of Game of Thrones are going to be super-sized according to a new [...]

By Jamie Lovett

The final six episodes of Game of Thrones are going to be super-sized according to a new report.

Premiere magazine reports that the first two episodes of Game of Thrones' eighth season will each be 60 minutes long. The remaining four episodes will each be 80 minutes long.

The report is based on a meeting of TV network executives in France. The runtimes were brought up during the Orange Cinema Series presentation at the event. You can take a look at a photo from the presentation below.

As noted by Entertainment Weekly, these runtimes have not been confirmed by HBO and Premiere itself noted that "the exact length of each episode has yet to be announced by HBO, OCS just gave us a more precise idea." The chances of all six of these episode landing on such specific, round-numbered runtimes seem low, but they may be close estimates. Most likely the first two episodes will run just under 60 minutes since crossing over that mark requires the show's creators to notify HBO and request permission, and then HBO has to notify its partner's and its a whole thing. Those final four episodes probably fall in the 75-85 minute range with all of the proper notifications going out and most parties probably being cool with it because of how huge Game of Thrones is worldwide.

The long runtimes fit with HBO chief Richard Piepler's description of the show's final season as being like six movies.

"It's a spectacle. The guys have done six movies. The reaction I had while watching them was, 'I'm watching a movie,'" Plepler said. "They knew the bar was high. They've exceeded the bar. I've watched them twice without any CGI and I'm in awe. Everybody's in for an extraordinary treat of storytelling and of magical, magical production."

Director David Nutter has also previously hinted that the episodes would be longer than average.

"Season 8 episodes will all I think be longer than 60 minutes. They'll be dancing around the bigger numbers, I know that for sure," Nutter shared during a Reddit Ask Me Anything thread.

Nutter also expressed how happy he is with how the show's final season turned out.

"I'm completely satisfied with how season 8 ends," Nutter wrote. "I think that [the showrunners] did a tremendous job, and they took into consideration what the fans want, as well as what is right as far as storytelling is concerned. I guarantee there's going to be lots of surprises and shocking moments, but it's really very compelling stuff."

Are you excited about the return of Game of Thrones? Let us know in the comments!

Game of Thrones Season 8 premieres April 15th on HBO.

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