For those who did the math, you were right. Game of Thrones Season 6 will begin rather later this year than usual. It will start right after the premiere season of HBO’s newest show Vinyl ends. At the TCAs this evening, HBO confirmed that the Season 6 premiere date has just been announced as April 24th, which is a full two weeks later than the season has ever started before.
Did HBO do this in order to give Martin some breathing room if he had indeed made his deadline for a March 31st release date for The Winds of Winter? HBO isn’t about to answer that question, especially now that the deadline was blown and the book will not be released before the season starts. Whatever the reason—if it was to give the show more time for CGI work, for Martin to write, or just because HBO wanted to start it later—the proof will probably be if they continue to push the premiere dates later in subsequent seasons.
Variety notes that actually the move might be a strategic one to get as many Emmy votes as possible. The finale will air just before the voting period for the 2016 Emmys begins on June 24th, and with whatever blowout of a finale the show has planned still fresh in voter’s minds, they are probably hoping to blow another round of Emmys out of the water and set all new benchmarks for future shows.
Now….can we get a trailer? Please?