--- description: So what was he doing in Belfast? title: HBO Exec: Jon Snow Is Dead and 'Game of Thrones' Could Run 8 Seasons image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fba0c54ad3a2a9c/6988549455a859bb48a8c817/gameofthrones15_172.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # HBO Exec Says Jon Snow Is Dead, Dead, Dead by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 31, 2015 12:43 PM CUT  Kit Harington as Jon Snow in Game of Thrones Kit Harington as Jon Snow in Game of ThronesHelen Sloan—HBO by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 31, 2015 12:43 PM CUT HBO programming president Michael Lombardo has weighed in on the rumors about _Game of Thrones_, and there’s [good news and bad news](http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-game-of-thrones-hbo-tca-20150730-story.html "undefined") for fans. The bad news, depending on your character loyalty, is that Jon Snow really is dead. “Dead is dead is dead is dead. He be dead,” Lombardo said at the Television Critics Association press tour on Thursday, the L.A. _Times_ reports. (Then again, he _would_ say that either way, wouldn’t he?) And as for those proponents of [R+L=J](http://time.com/3003227/game-thrones-jon-snow-mother/ "undefined"), their theory could be put to the test on screen: Lombardo hinted, “There’s enormous storytelling to be mined in a prequel.” \[[_L.A. Times_](http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-game-of-thrones-hbo-tca-20150730-story.html "undefined")\] ### See The Real-Life People Who Inspired Game of Thrones Characters  From left: Cersei and Margaret of Anjou HBO; Getty Images  From Left: Khaleesi and Queen Elizabeth I. HBO; Getty Images  From Left: Melisandre and Bloody Mary Helen Sloan—HBO; Getty Images  From left: Talisa Stark and Anne Boleyn. Helen Sloan—HBO; Getty Images  From left: Brienne of Tarth and Joan of Arc. HBO; DeAgostini—Getty Images  From left: Henry VIII and Robert Baratheon. HBO; Getty Images  From left: Joffrey and Caligula. HBO; De Agostini—Getty Images _Read next:_ [_Watch Katniss and Jon Snow Face Off in ‘The Hunger Game of Thrones’_](http://time.com/3973090/hunger-games-game-of-thrones-mash-up/?iid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") [_Download TIME’s mobile app for iOS to have your world explained wherever you go_](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/time-mobile/id328218429 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3979953/hbo-exec-jon-snow-dead/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3979953/hbo-exec-jon-snow-dead/"},"headline":"HBO Exec Says Jon Snow Is Dead, Dead, Dead","datePublished":"2015-07-31T12:43:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:02:13.880Z","description":"So what was he doing in Belfast?","url":"https://time.com/3979953/hbo-exec-jon-snow-dead/","keywords":["Television","HBO","game of thrones"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fba0c54ad3a2a9c/6988549455a859bb48a8c817/gameofthrones15_172.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fba0c54ad3a2a9c/6988549455a859bb48a8c817/gameofthrones15_172.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"gameofthrones15_172","caption":"Kit Harington as Jon Snow in Game of Thrones","creditText":"Helen Sloan—HBO","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3979953/hbo-exec-jon-snow-dead/","name":"HBO Exec Says Jon Snow Is Dead, Dead, Dead"}}]}] ```