Former HBO chief executive Richard Plepler made headlines with a recent Variety interview, in which he raved about the feature film quality of the upcoming final season of Game of Thrones. The season’s six episodes felt more like “six movies” than they did a set of TV episodes, he insisted, which many people took to be a reference to their length. “They knew the bar was high. They’ve exceeded the bar,” Plepler told Variety about the team behind the show.
As of today, we now have the official word straight from HBO itself to underscore what its former chief was talking about. The network has confirmed the runtimes and air dates of all six of the much-anticipated season’s episodes, the start of which is now less than a month away.
Following the release earlier this month of a trailer that unsurprisingly served to amp up fan excitement even more for season 8, here without further ado are the details for each of the season’s episodes. The first two will clock in at just under an hour, while the final four will exceed the episodes’ usual length and come in at just under the 90-minute mark. The longest episode of the season actually comes halfway through, with April 28’s episode 3.
Season 8, Episode 1
Date: Sunday, April 14 (all episodes air at 9:00 p.m. ET)
Estimated running time: 0:54
Episode 2
Date: Sunday, April 21
Estimated running time: 0:58
Episode 3
Date: Sunday, April 28
Estimated running time: 1:22
Episode 4
Date: Sunday, May 5
Estimated running time: 1:18
Episode 5
Date: Sunday, May 12
Estimated running time: 1:20
Episode 6
Date: Sunday, May 19
Estimated running time: 1:20
As a reminder, there’s so much to look forward to this time around including everything from the resolution of several key storylines like how the incursion of the Army of the Dead will be repelled, who will end up on the Iron Throne and which of the series’ most beloved characters will live and die. Also in store for us is the longest consecutive battle sequence ever filmed, one that was so massive it took 11 weeks of all-night shooting in harsh conditions so the show’s crew gets everything just right.
And in case you need to see the trailer again to be reminded of how epic this final season will be:
