I recently saw amemethat so perfectly represented me , I felt obligate to switch it in for all identify information on my societal spiritualist accounts . It ’s a 20 - minute time of Millhouse from " The Simpsons " play the saddest plot of solo frisbee conceivable . The keep company textual matter ? " When you ’re that one friend that does n’t watch ' Game of Thrones . ' "
This is so literally me , it almost brought me to tears . On a grouping vacation last year , all 10 of my lady friend sit ecstatic in the rental sign of the zodiac watching Beyonce ’s " Lemonade " film after its surprisal premiere . But when it was over , everyone around me clamored for the remote . The " Game of Thrones " season premiere steal the limelight , and I , the lone dragon - illiterate group member , move back to another room .
All of this is to say , no , I do n’t learn " Game of Thrones . " But I am surrounded by loved ones who very passionately do , and as I ’ve see from them — and the vocal mass of the interwebs — there simply are n’t enough episodes per time of year to quench their obsessive hungriness for more .
The season seven finale , which aired Aug. 27 , 2017 , capped a seven - episode narration arc , shorter than all the already - pretty - blessed - brusk 10 - episode seasons before it . Andaccording to reports , season eight — the series ' last hurrah — will contain justsixepisodes .
I may not know much about GOT , but I do know that 10 or fewer installment does not a reliable television season make . I ’ve re - watched teen dramas from my young person , and those shows have probablytoomany episode in every season . " Dawson ’s Creek " ? Season six contained 24 episode . Season two of " Gossip Girl " had 25 . And " My So - Called Life " consisted of 19 sequence its unmarried premiere season .
And there are slew of critically acclaim serial publication that had more episodes - per - time of year back in the day , too . " The West Wing , " " 30 Rock " and " ER " all on a regular basis included 20 - plus episode each time of year . So why are internet and cyclosis services now opting for shorter seasons , even splitting them into two shorter segment ?
" There are probably at least a half - dozen factor , " say Daniel Fienberg , boob tube critic for The Hollywood Reporter and president of theTelevision Critics Associationin an electronic mail . For the majority of watcher , though , it ’s about semantics , he says . " Technically the last two years of ' split up Bad ' were a single season , but the ending run of ' Game of Thrones ' is technically two shortened seasons . "
" Breaking Bad , " which roll in 2013 , break its final run into two , eight - episode miniskirt - seasons . AMCdid the same matter for its critical dearie " unrestrained world , " breaking its terminal seventh season into two seven - episode segments .
" A major part of it is contractual , " Fienberg explains . " A split final season like ' Breaking Bad ' and ' Mad Men ' gets negotiated as a single time of year , presumably without pay bumps for stars between season , but also permit for more sequence either burgeon forth all at once or with a long hiatus between ' half ' of the season . "
But while the net seasons of some show , like " Lost , " are rank at the same time under a single contract , Fienberg says " Game of Thrones " was negotiated under slimly different , but significant , circumstances . " The seventh and 8th seasons of ' Game of Thrones ' were technically ordered separately and the stars got big wage bumps for the eighth time of year , " he says . " There ends up being some via media in price of episode count and sequence distance . "
But semantics and contracts are just part of why establish get split season . Fienberg says disunite season also allows web to keep brand - make shows as long as potential , spread out its stars across as manyEmmy Awardsseasons as possible .
" Jon Hamm , for good example , would n’t have get ahead his only Emmy for play Don Draper if the full last time of year of ' Mad Men ' had aired in the same year as the second half of the last ' burst risky ' season , " Fienberg explains .
That ’s because Bryan Cranston call for home the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2014 and " Breaking Bad " take aim the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series . Jon Hamm finally make his Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2015 .
" For audiences , it ’s annoying to have these shortened seasons , but if you ’re AMC , even a truncated season of an Emmy - winning deary has perceptual value across the full schedule , " Fienberg sound out .
And while this may also be the case for " Game of Thrones , " the show has some unique grounds for splitting its time of year . " HBO wants to give the series Creator as much time as they require to finish the show in the right way , " Fienberg says . " This season will be eligible for the 2018 Emmys . I ’d bet that even if the 2nd time of year is delayed until 2019 , it ’ll bare before the Emmy deadline in tardy May , so that ’ll be eligible for the 2019 Emmys . And the longer things get spread out and delayed , the better hazard HBO will have a possible prequel / comrade serial ready to go . "
So , while sports fan may be suffering through short / split time of year now , the disappointing scenario could potentially compensate off in the form of aspinoff(maybe ) . " If you ’re a Godhead on a show , having one of these split seasons , or having two final season gives you a point to place for , narratively , " Fienberg says . " It let you know where you ’re headed , and how many episodes you have to get there and often gives you a breakage in the middle for writing or just for preparing for the scale of the windup episodes . Sometimes that leave in the first seasons in these run being more about snoop so that the slice are in place for a big climax , as happened with the two one-half of the ' break risky ' terminal time of year . "
So , the takeout for all of you " Game of Thrones " lover out there ? model back and be patient because psyche - blowing viewing surely await you . And the takeaway for me is to get my act together and catch up before time of year eight premiere and I lose all my friends again .
