It's been nearly nine months since Game of Thrones fans first saw Jon Snow beat the pieces out of Ramsay Bolton, or watch Daenerys Targaryen cross the Narrow Sea with an army of Dothraki and a trio of dragons to boot (sorry for the spoilers, but if you're not caught up by now, I don't know what to tell you). Since then, die hard fans of the show have been left to speculate (and potentially spoil) the future of Westeros.
On Thursday, HBO finally released the premiere date for the show's seventh season with a teaser that provides very few clues as to what's set to unfold. Mark your calendars for July 16, ladies and gentleman, and start preparing yourself for more of the Valyrian sword-clashing and fire-breathing fun that you've come to know and love.
If the premiere date seems late, it's because it is—GoT debuted its sixth season in April last year. The delay stems from the fact that winter took its sweet time to arrive in some of the show's primary filming locations, which was a bit of a hiccup considering that winter is a key plot point in the new season.
One silver lining in the delayed release is that the three-plus months between now and the season's premiere should give you plenty of time to rewatch the entire series. Heck, if you play a Game of Thrones drinking game during each episode, the time between now and July 16 could fly right by.