Bad news Thrones fans – the HBO hit show’s days are numbered.
We are just one episode away from the close of season six, and beyond that, we know the next two seasons will be far shorter.
Season seven is contracted to seven episodes, while eight drops down to six from the traditional ten.
But the light at the end of the tunnel – exposed by recent contract negotiations – is that several fan favourites look set to remain on our screens until the end.
As reported by The Daily Star, certain stars will be receiving a sizeable raise in light of the shortened series length.
In 2014, those at the centre of the story negotiated a fee of $300,000 per episode – roughly £204,000 – but that is going to increase to a massive $500,000 per episode – around £340,000.
The renewed contracts in theory see the recipients safe up to the end of season eight – but who are they?
Vanity Fair reports Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister) have all signed on the dotted line.
HBO have thus far refused to comment on speculation.
But let’s not kid ourselves, despite George R.R. Martin no longer assisting with the writing of episodes, it is unlikely all five will be able to survive and give the show a legitimate resolution.
