HIT TV drama Game of Thrones will end after its eight season, it has been confirmed.
The US fantasy series, which is primarily filmed in Northern Ireland, will end in 2018, American broadcaster HBO has said.
The announcement was made on Saturday at the Television Critics Association's conference by programming chief Casey Bloys.
Mr Bloys said the number of episodes for the final season was yet to be determined and did not rule out a spin-off following the conclusion of the hit show.
The sixth of Game of Thrones finished airing at the end of June, after which HBO bosses confirmed that season seven would be delayed until summer 2017 and would feature just seven episodes instead of the usual 10 for the first time.
In a statement Mr Bloys said: "Now that winter has arrived on Game of Thrones, executive producers David Benioff and DB Weiss felt that the storylines of the next season would be better served by starting production a little later than usual, when the weather is changing.
"Instead of the show's traditional spring debut, we're moving the debut to summer to accommodate the shooting schedule."
Last year Game of Thrones, based on novels written by George R R Martin, won a record 12 Emmy Awards - the most ever for a series in a single year.
Since production began in 2010, it is estimated the show has brought in £150m to the Northern Ireland economy with some of the striking landmarks it features including the Dark Hedges in Co Antrim.
In the six years since the programme hit TV screens more that 25 companies now offer specialist Game of Thrones tours.
