We’ve known since the penultimate season of Game of Thrones came to a close at the end of August there was a chance that there would be no new episodes for the entirety of 2018, and that we might have to wait until 2019 for the final season to arrive at our eyes.

Now HBO has confirmed it: Game of Thrones season eight will be arriving in 2019. They’ve also confirmed how many episodes fans can look forward to seeing when the final season does arrive, and who’s writing and directing those final episodes. You can read HBO’s announcement below.

From HBO:

The epic fantasy series Game of Thrones will return for its six-episode, eighth and final season in 2019.

David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, David Nutter and Miguel Sapochnik will be the directors for the new season. Writers for the new season are David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, Bryan Cogman and Dave Hill.

The executive producers of the series are David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Carolyn Strauss, Frank Doelger and Bernadette Caulfield. Co-executive producers are Bryan Cogman, Guymon Casady, Vince Gerardis and George R.R. Martin.

Unfortunately the release window is broad. We now know we have over a year of waiting to do, but how much beyond that is not yet known. Perhaps it will fittingly air during the dead of winter in January or February. Perhaps it will air during the familiar spring months most of the previous seasons ran during. Perhaps it will air during the summer like the previous season did. Or perhaps they’ll really make us squirm and save the finale for later in the year during the fall. It’s all possible at this point.

Another big question will be how long each episode will be. It’s crazy to think that there’s that few episodes left. We knew it would be less than the usual 10, same as last season, but now it’s real. Six episodes. To wrap up everything that’s currently going on. There’s always the chance that every episode could be a longer super-episode, but we can only wait patiently to find out.

So hoard as many bottles of wine or whatever your drink of choice is, grab the biggest goblet you can find, and get comfortable Game of Thrones fans. I know I will be.

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