‘Game of Thrones’: HBO Confirms They Won’t Reshoot Season 8 Despite Backlash

Fans hoping for a rewrite of Game of Thrones Season 8 shouldn’t be getting their hopes up. At the Television Critics Association summer press tour earlier this week, HBO president Casey Bloys responded to backlash of the popular series’ final season and calls for it to be redone, confirming that the network has no intentions of reshooting.

“There are very, very few downsides to having a hugely popular show,” Bloys told reporters, according to CNN, “but one I can think of is when you try to end it, many people have big opinions on how these characters’ stories should come to an end and how they should see any characters’ stories come through.”

Although the season had crushed viewership records, with the series finale drawing in 13.6 million live viewers and breaking HBO’s record for most-watched telecast, it did little to satisfy fans, with many criticizing the pacing, anticlimactic moments, and characters acting out of character.

The backlash was so great that one fan even created a Change.org petition calling on HBO to remake the season without showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss at the helm, claiming that they “have proven themselves to be woefully incompetent writers when they have no source material (i.e. the books) to fall back on.” The petition has since garnered nearly 1.7 million signatures.

Despite the support for the petition, Bloys said that HBO has no plans to re-shoot the finale.

“The petition shows a lot of enthusiasm and passion for the show, but it wasn’t something that we seriously considered,” he said.

Bloys also denied rumors that HBO had meddled with the series via notes to the creators.

“When a show is sixth, seventh season of a highly successful run by that point, there’s usually a rhythm with the showrunners and network…so there’s no more back and forth,” Bloys said.

Speaking on the backlash and the potential influence it could have on the upcoming Game of Thrones prequel series, believed to be titled Bloodmoon, Bloys assured that the criticism would “not at all” change how HBO approaches the series.

While the season may have garnered little fanfare, it was enough to make history when it earned 32 Emmy nominations, including one for best drama series, as well as individual acting nominations for most of its cast, including Kit Harrington, Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey, Sophie Turner Maisie Williams and Gwendoline Christie. This marks the first time four actresses from the same drama have been nominated in the supporting actress category.