Seven gods, seven kingdoms, seven books (eventually)… seven seasons.

The seventh season of GAME OF THRONES is on its way. HBO has released their first teaser.

Enjoy.

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Oh, and I almost forgot… HBO has also announced the premiere date: Sunday, JULY 16.

There will be gala premieres as usual, of course. Not sure of the details on those yet. But I do know that we hope to have another premiere party right here in Santa Fe, at the Jean Cocteau Cinema… and that we will be running a Season 6 marathon in the weeks running up to the new season, so you can refresh yourselves on what happened last year, and enjoy all the action on our big medium-sized screen.

And speaking of season 6, if you enjoyed the show and would like to nominate us for a Hugo Award, you have only eight days left. Nominations close on March 18. GAME OF THRONES is eligible in two categories. You can nominate the season as whole in Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form (which is what I favor, personally), or you can nominate individual episodes in Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. (Or you could do both, if you were so inclined). If you are inclined to take the second course, the episodes most likely to make this year’s (extremely competitive) ballot are “The Door” and “Battle of the Bastards” IMNSHO. “Battle of the Bastards” won Emmy Awards for both writing and directing this year, and “The Door” was also a finalist for directing.

((And though I am of course hopelessly prejudiced toward GOT, I will be the first to proclaim that this was an outstanding year for drama in both categories. The first seasons of WESTWORLD and STRANGER THINGS are also worthy of being nominated for Long Form, along side last year’s best SF movie, ARRIVAL. In Short Form I loved “Leviathan Wakes,” the final episode of season one of THE EXPANSE, and two great episodes of BLACK MIRROR, “San Junipero” and “Hated in the Nation.” I would love to see all of them earn spots on the ballot… along with GOT ))

But enough about last year. A new season is coming.

July 16. Mark your calendars.