All shows must die – even Game of Thrones. As the fantasy epic readies to launch its sixth season, HBO and showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss are nearly ready to confirm a seventh – and the duo are also talking about an eighth run of episodes that might include an end-date plan. “We’ve known for several years now how many hours, roughly, we want it to go,” Benioff tells EW. “It hasn’t changed.”

The proposed magic number? About 73 hours, with the final run split between seasons 7 and 8. Thrones would then have six 10-episode seasons and shortened seasons for years seven (with seven episodes) and eight (with six episodes). So this could, in theory, mark the final year Game of Thrones gets a 10-episode season – and there could only be 13 hours left after season 6.

Got the drop on Entertainment Weekly . . .