Winter Is Coming April 17th: HBO Announces Start Date for Game of Thrones

The date we've been waiting for is finally here.

HBO today announced a launch date for Game of Thrones, its adaptation of George R.R. Martin's novels.

That date? April 17th at 9 pm ET/PT.

(The pay cable network also announced the start date for its upcoming Kate Winslet-led miniseries Mildred Pierce, which will air its first installment on March 27th. The sizzle reel they showed made the mini look insanely amazing.)

As for Game of Thrones, I watched the 15-minute clip reel that HBO assembled and think that it looks extraordinary. Entire scenes have been reshot since the original pilot I saw last summer and several roles (in addition to the two major ones) have been recast. I also sat down with George R.R. Martin and David Benioff and Dan Weiss earlier today as a few of us joined the author and the series' executive producers for a series of roundtable discussions. More on that to come!

Stay tuned.