HBO President Defends ‘Game of Thrones’ Delay to 2019

HBO President Casey Bloys knows you are mad about the Game of Thrones delay, but he says it will be worth it the wait.

According to TVLine, the decision to not air the show’s final season until 2019 was not “technically a delay,” Bloys said during a Television Critics Association panel. “It was based on when [the creators] felt that they could deliver a show that they are most proud of.”

“I suppose we could’ve said to them, ‘You must deliver by this date,”‘ he continued. “But we’ve worked with them a long time and I trust them to tell us, ‘This is the time we need to make it good.’ So I don’t know that it’s a delay as much as it is ‘This is the time required to deliver at the level that they think the fans expect.’”

During the panel, Bloys announced that other shows viewers can expect to premiere on the premium cable series in 2019 include the second season of Big Little Lies and the third season of True Detective.

Photo credit: HBO / Warner Bros. Television