HBO confirmed everyone's worst fear earlier this month that "Game of Thrones" season 8 will not air until 2019. While it would certainly be an agonizing wait for fans, the network's programming head Casey Bloys says there is a reason for the late premiere.

Talking to TV Line, Bloys insisted "it wasn't necessarily a delay." Sure, the final season has fewer episodes compared to the previous ones. However, they are promised to be longer and bigger in terms of battle scenes and special effects, which obviously take plenty of time to perfect. According to Bloys, "Game of Thrones" showrunners Dan Weiss and David Benioff simply wanted to have additional time to give fans a quality ending, especially since there are only six episodes remaining.

"It was based on when they felt that they could deliver a show that they are most proud of," he explained. "I suppose we could've said to them, 'You must deliver by this date.' But we've worked with them a long time and I trust them to tell us, 'This is the time we need to make it good.' So I don't know that it's a delay as much as it is 'This is the time required to deliver at the level that they think the fans expect.'"

Meanwhile, Bloys also shared an update on the five in-development "Thrones" prequel series. He confirmed none will feature any existing characters, although "there may be [familiar] bloodlines" linking the new stories to what fans have already seen on the present show.

When asked in a separate interview whether they are close to being ordered to pilot, he said "they're moving along" with talented writers on board. He also mentioned when the viewers could expect them on the small screen.

"The one thing I will tell you, which we talked about before, any sort of pilot-to-series [order], there's not going to be anything on our air for a least a year after Game of Thrones airs," he said. "We're not using the final season to launch a new show or anything like that. There's going to be a separation between the two. These are among the best writers working and I'm hopeful."

Assuming there are no roadblocks ahead, that means fans could see at least one "Game of Thrones" prequel as soon as 2020.