Game Of Thrones fans may only have a few more seasons to enjoy the HBO fantasy saga.

HBO programming chief Michael Lombardo said on Thursday that the drama series' producers are leaning toward three more seasons after the just-concluded season five.

'I'm always hoping they're going to change their minds, but I think that's what we're looking at right now," Lombardo told a Television Critics Association meeting in Beverly Hills.

Dead or alive? HBO programming chief Michael Lombardo on Thursday revealed that Game Of Thrones may only have a few more seasons during a Television Critics Association meeting in Beverly Hills

Asked about the possibility of a prequel series, Lombardo said he believed there's 'enormous story material' to be mined for such a project.

The current focus of showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss was season six of Game Of Thrones, he said, which is in production now for 2016.

The series came under fire this year for a rape scene involving a bride's assault by her husband on their wedding night.

Critically acclaimed: Lena Headey is shown as Cersei Lannister in a March 2014 still from the critically acclaimed show

Lombardo, noting that the drama has included violence as a thread since it started, said the producers have been careful about not overstepping boundaries while remaining true to the storytelling.

'I support them fully artistically,' he said.

Voters in the Television Academy weren't swayed by the controversy, making Game of Thrones the most-nominated series last month for the upcoming 67th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Programming chief: Lombardo, shown in June 2014 in New York City, also weighed in on whether Jon Snow was dead or alive

Fantasy drama: Iain Glen and Peter Dinklage, shown in a season five still, are part of the show's large ensemble cast

It received 24 nods for the September awards, including best drama series.

Lombardo was asked if the popular character of Jon Snow, played by 28-year-old English actor Kit Harington, was actually a goner after appearing to die in the season five finale in June.

'Dead is dead is dead. He be dead. Yes,' said Lombardo.

'Everything I've seen, heard and read, Snow is dead,' Lombardo added.