That means the HBO epic will miss the next Emmy period. The series begins shooting later this summer in Northern Ireland, Spain and Iceland.

“Now that winter has arrived on ‘Game of Thrones,‘” executive producers David Benioffand D.B. Weiss felt that the storylines of the next season would be better served by starting production a little later than usual, when the weather is changing,” said Casey Bloys, president, HBO programming. “Instead of the show’s traditional spring debut, we’re moving the debut to summer to accommodate the shooting schedule.”

Season 7 directors will include Mark Mylod, Jeremy Podeswa, Matt Shakman and Alan Taylor. Executive producers are David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Carolyn Strauss, Frank Doelger and Bernadette Caulfield; co-executive producers, Guymon Casady, Vince Gerardis, George R.R. Martin and Bryan Cogman; producers, Chris Newman, Greg Spence and Lisa McAtackney.

Last week, “Game of Thrones” received 23 Primetime Emmy nominations, the most of any nominee for the third year in a row.

This year’s nominations include Outstanding Drama Series, two for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington), three for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey, Maisie Williams), Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (Max von Sydow), two for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (Miguel Sapochnik, Jack Bender) and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (David Benioff and D.B. Weiss).

(Yahoo News)