HBO Confirms ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 8 Episode Debut Dates and Runtimes

HBO has officially confirmed the runtimes for the six episodes that will make up Game of Thrones final season. The runtimes were unofficially leaked earlier in the week, disappointing some fans who were expecting each episode to essentially be a mini film.

The official announcement is a bit closer to expectations for the show, especially in the back part of the eighth season. The shortest episode of the season will be the premiere at 54 minutes, with the second episode following close behind at just two minutes under an hour at 58 minutes.

From that point, the lengths are edging closer to film length. The longest will be episode three at 82 minutes, followed by episode four at 78 minutes and the final two episodes both clocking in at 80 minutes apiece.

The full listing is as follows:

• Episode 1: 54 minutes – April 14
• Episode 2: 58 minutes – April 21
• Episode 3: 82 minutes – April 28
• Episode 4: 78 minutes – May 5
• Episode 5: 80 minutes – May 12
• Episode 6: 80 minutes – May 19

Some fans will still be disappointed given the previous rumors that all six episodes of Game of Thrones eighth season would hit the 90-minute point. But in the end, it could mean that there could be extended editions released on Blu-Ray.

The reactions to the leaked times were not all pleasant. Some felt that the first few episodes would clock in around 80 minutes and grow from there, which still doesn’t seem to be the case.

Another pointed out that HBO has counted “making of material” shown at the end of the episodes in their official runtimes, raising questions about how much of these times are devoted only to the story.

“How are they possibly going to tie up all the loose ends in only 6 slightly longer than average episodes?” another Game of Thrones fan asked.

A big point of contention was the history-making Battle of Winterfell — the “longest consecutive battle sequence” ever filmed — and its home in episode three. The leaked length only provided 60 minutes for the fight that took 11 weeks of night shoots to complete. That has luckily changed with the official times, with episode three now sitting as the longest of the final season.

The official release still raises questions about the claims made by the showrunners and HBO CEO Richard Plepler that season 8 would be a “spectacle.” That said, the trailer for the final season did a lot of heavy lifting for that cause, breaking records in the process.

Upon its release, the trailer smashed HBO’s previous 24-hour viewing record by amassing 81 million views across all platforms such as YouTube and Twitter.

Even if the lengths are officially a little shorter than a film, it definitely has a blockbuster feel to it.