HBO chief defends final season of ‘Game of Thrones’

More than a million outraged fans have signed a petition urging HBO to remake the final season of “Game of Thrones� without showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, but HBO programming president Casey Bloys considers that a compliment, of sorts.

“I think the petition shows a lot of enthusiasm and passion for the show,� the executive said Wednesday at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour, “but it wasn’t something we seriously considered.�

The subject of the divisive final season of “Game of Thrones� came up throughout his Q&A session with reporters.

“There are very, very few downsides to having a hugely popular show,� he said, “but one I can think of is, when you try to end it, many people have big opinions on how it should end... I think that just comes with the territory.�

Bloys acknowledged that the show’s record-breaking haul of 32 Emmy nominations was “certainly nice validation.�

While the development of “Game of Thrones� was famously painstaking — the original pilot was recast and extensively reshot — HBO provided less creative feedback as time went on and as the showrunners moved beyond George R.R. Martin’s books. But this is typical for a show with such a long run, said Bloys.

“By that point, there’s usually a rhythm between the showrunners and the network,� he said. “It was minimal back and forth here and there. That’s not just ‘Game of Thrones.’ ‘Silicon Valley’ is doing its final season right now... It’s not like we’re all over them.�