HBO announced the return of its epic fantasy series Game of Thrones by melting a giant block of ice live on its Facebook page. After an agonizing wait that critics mocked as "atrocious" and "HBO's worst stunt yet" — yet viewed by more than 1.6 million people — the icy prison melted away, revealing July 16 as the premiere date for Game of Thrones' seventh season. It included no new footage, instead opting for some critical lines from previous seasons playing over images of stone busts of animals representing the duelling families' crests. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels, made Emmy history last year, earning a total of 38 awards over its six seasons, eclipsing the former record held by Frasier's 37. Weiss confirmed last year that the final two seasons will be shorter than the previous six seasons' 10 episodes each, hence this year's summer premiere instead of the usual spring.

Source: CBC News March 09, 2017 21:22 UTC