It's gonna be a long year.
Following months of speculation, HBO has confirmed that the final season of Game of Thrones won’t premiere until sometime in 2019.
The decision comes following six months of rumours, and is being characterised as a strategic move by the network to allow for more time for the powers-that-be to work on its numerous proposed spinoff series ideas.
HBO also reiterated that the eighth season of the show will have six episodes — which, given the nature of what's come before (episodes in season seven ranged from 59 to 80 minutes) will likely be an hour each or longer.
The directors and writers for the final season have also been announced. According to the network, showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss will direct the series finale, with veteran Game of Thrones director David Nutter set to make a return for three of the season's six episodes.
These will be the first shows Nutter has directed since season five.
Miguel Sapochnick will also be back to direct two episodes, after directing two each in season 5 and season 6 and sitting out season 7. The season will be written by both Benioff and Weiss, as well as Bryan Cogman and Dave Hill.
So far, there’s no specific release date for the eighth season of the show, but it seems like the network has a whole year to tease fans with the details.
