For the first six years, HBO stuck to a strict 10-episode format. This allowed the showrunners to build tension slowly, leading up to a massive penultimate episode (usually Episode 9) and a transformative finale. 10 episodes (Aired 2011) Season 2: 10 episodes (Aired 2012) Season 3: 10 episodes (Aired 2013) Season 4: 10 episodes (Aired 2014) Season 5: 10 episodes (Aired 2015) Season 6: 10 episodes (Aired 2016) Season 7: 7 episodes (Aired 2017) Season 8: 6 episodes (Aired 2019) Why the Final Seasons Were Shorter
As the story moved toward the "Great War" and the "Last War," the battles became more complex to film. For example, the Season 8 episode "The Long Night" took 55 nights to film for the outdoor battle sequences alone. To compensate for fewer episodes, the "feature-length" format was adopted, with several final episodes clocking in at nearly 80 minutes each. Total Watch Time how many episodes of game of thrones
The series ran for on HBO, premiering on April 17, 2011, and concluding on May 19, 2019. For the first six years, HBO stuck to