Game of Thrones will only have one spin-off because "the bar is so high"

What do Highlanders and Game of Thrones spin-offs have in common? It turns out, there can be only one. That’s right. Don’t go expecting four Game of Thrones spin-offsHBO are firmly setting their sights on just a single offshoot once Game of Thrones season 7 and the final season are done and dusted. Haven’t they heard? There can never be too much of a good thing…

HBO programming president Casey Bloys revealed in an interview with EW that the Thrones spin-offs will eventually only come down to one, possibly featuring some sort of Mountain vs. The Viper-style duel between the four writers brought on to foster the projects, who knows?

Bloys said, “In the press at large, everybody said, ‘there are four spinoffs’ and they assume that means each one is happening and we’re going to have a new Game of Thrones show per quarter. That’s not what’s going on.” 

Bloys went on to confirm that four shows are definitely not on the agenda “The idea is not to do four shows. The bar set by [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] is so high that my hope is to get one show that lives up to it."

It really does sound like HBO are playing them off against one another to get the best possible Thrones spin-off but, hey, I’m not complaining. Bloys also explained the behind-the-scenes process before the ultimate decision is made, “We have some amazing writers who want to take a shot at this. They’re also looking at different times in the universe and all will have different feels. This increases our odds of finding one that’s unique.”

If it isn’t too late, I would like to throw my name into the hat for a Jaime and Bronn road trip spin-off. Make it happen, HBO.

Image: HBO

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.