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Game of Thrones season 7: How many episodes are there?

By Brittany Frederick

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 10: Actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau attends the premiere of HBO's 'Game Of Thrones' Season 6 at TCL Chinese Theatre on April 10, 2016 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 10: Actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau attends the premiere of HBO's 'Game Of Thrones' Season 6 at TCL Chinese Theatre on April 10, 2016 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images) /
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How many episodes are in Game of Thrones season 7? We let you know the episode count of the upcoming season of Game of Thrones.

How many episodes are in Game of Thrones season 7? Fans of the HBO series are asking how much they’ll be getting when the new season begins later this month, and it may not be what you expect.

There will be just seven episodes in Game of Thrones season 7. That’s three fewer episodes than have ever appeared in any season of the series. Seasons 1-6 all consisted of 10 episodes apiece, making season 7 the shortest season ever.

The smaller episode order is disappointing news for Game of Thrones fans, but it’s not uncommon series to have shorter seasons on cable or premium cable channels, where there’s more schedule flexibility than broadcast TV.

On HBO, the third and final season of The Newsroom had six episodes in 2014, down from nine in its second season. The fourth season of Big Love consisted of just nine episodes in 2010. And the fourth and last cycle of Treme was a mere five episodes in 2013.

So there’s nothing necessarily out of order with Game of Thrones having seven episodes for season 7. It does give the season a certain synchronicity with the number of episodes matching up with the number of seasons, and perhaps the creative team will tell an even tighter or fast-paced story since they will have less time to do it.

Game of Thrones season 7 has seven episodes, but that just means that every episode will be that much more important for fans. Audiences will want to make sure they don’t miss anything when the series returns on July 16.

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Game of Thrones season 7 begins on July 16 at 9 p.m. ET. For the latest news and information on all things GoT related, be sure to visit FanSided’s Winter Is Coming.