<P> Game of Thrones is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss . The series is based on the A Song of Ice and Fire novels by author George R.R. Martin . The series takes place on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos and chronicles the power struggles among noble families as they fight for control of the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms . The series starts when House Stark, led by Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark (Sean Bean) is drawn into schemes against King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) when the Hand of the King Jon Arryn (Robert's chief advisor) dies mysteriously . </P> <P> The series premiered on April 17, 2011, on HBO . David Benioff and D.B. Weiss both serve as executive producers along with Carolyn Strauss, Frank Doelger, Bernadette Caulfield and George R.R. Martin . Filming for the series has taken place in a number of locations, including Croatia, Northern Ireland, Iceland and Spain . Episodes are broadcast on Sunday at 9: 00 pm Eastern Time, and the episodes are between 50 and 81 minutes in length . The first six seasons are available on DVD and Blu - ray . </P> <P> The series was renewed for a seventh season in April 2016, which premiered on July 16, 2017 and consisted of seven episodes . The series will conclude with its eighth season, which will consist of six episodes . As of August 27, 2017, 67 episodes of Game of Thrones have aired, concluding the seventh season . The show's episodes have won numerous awards including two Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Season </Th> <Th_colspan="2"> Episodes </Th> <Th_colspan="2"> Originally aired </Th> <Th> Avg . viewers (millions) </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> First aired </Th> <Th> Last aired </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 10 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> April 17, 2011 (2011 - 04 - 17) </Td> <Td> June 19, 2011 (2011 - 06 - 19) </Td> <Td> 2.52 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 10 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> April 1, 2012 (2012 - 04 - 01) </Td> <Td> June 3, 2012 (2012 - 06 - 03) </Td> <Td> 3.80 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 10 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> March 31, 2013 (2013 - 03 - 31) </Td> <Td> June 9, 2013 (2013 - 06 - 09) </Td> <Td> 4.97 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 10 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> April 6, 2014 (2014 - 04 - 06) </Td> <Td> June 15, 2014 (2014 - 06 - 15) </Td> <Td> 6.84 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 5 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 10 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> April 12, 2015 (2015 - 04 - 12) </Td> <Td> June 14, 2015 (2015 - 06 - 14) </Td> <Td> 6.88 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 6 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 10 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> April 24, 2016 (2016 - 04 - 24) </Td> <Td> June 26, 2016 (2016 - 06 - 26) </Td> <Td> 7.69 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 7 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 7 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> July 16, 2017 (2017 - 07 - 16) </Td> <Td> August 27, 2017 (2017 - 08 - 27) </Td> <Td> 10.26 </Td> </Tr> </Table>

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