Winter has been longer coming back as the need to delay filming to catch chillier weather means Game Of Thrones will be on the air later than usual. HBO has at last announced a return date, making a big show of revealing 16 July.
And with the show now racing towards the end game, lining up two final seasons, though there has been no official confirmation of that fact. We do now know that this year's Season 7 will only run to seven episodes, but given that production reportedly stretched across a similar time period that 10 episodes require, that surely means we can expect big things.
HBO tried to announce the new date in style, with an elaborate Facebook Live event that featured flamethrowers melting a giant ice block for the reveal (ice vs. fire being a big theme this year), but it all seemed to go a little bit wrong and the company might now be wishing it had stuck to tweeting.
Season 7, as mentioned, hits HBO in the US on 16 July. Expect the usual simulcast by Sky Atlantic in the UK, and a repeat on the evening of the 17th.
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