Following the much-anticipated finale of the penultimate series, the upcoming and final season of HBO's Game of Thrones is heading into reality soon. But the most important question at this moment is — when will it return to television?

Also read: The Game Revealed: HBO unveils the first Game of Thrones spin-off 

The season 7 finale left us with so many questions as it ended with a few cliffhangers right from Jon doing the deed with his aunt Daenerys to Night King knocking the wall with the help of the ice dragon. Hence, we are looking forward to season 8 of Game of Thrones already.

Game of Thrones season 7 finale
Lena Headey in a still from Ep 7 'The Dragon and the Wolf'HBO

So, when is season 8 returning?

Game of Thrones Season 8 is likely to return either in late 2018 or early 2019. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the hiatus between the penultimate season and the final season might be up to 16 months or more.

Earlier in June, HBO programming president Casey Bloys told Entertainment Weekly, that GoT showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss were "going to work on the final season for the next year and a half." So, "the final season could air in 2018 and/or in 2019 depending on their needs."

How many episodes will be there in season 8?

The eighth season of HBO's fantasy drama will be shorter than season 7 and will only run for six episodes. However, there is a high possibility of the episodes being longer than the 40 minutes.

At the end of Game of Thrones' season 6, showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss said in 2016 that they were planning to end the show after another 13 episodes which would be split between two final seasons, seventh and eighth. So, if the seventh series has got seven episodes, then the final season will have six episodes.

However, Game of Thrones fans should not be broken-hearted as only one season is left for the series. Four prequels are already in the making although those are still in their early stage.

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