Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Entertainment
  3. News

Game of Thrones season 8 was promised to be massive. Now we have the numbers

By

The final season of Game of Thrones is expected to be epic, but it won’t be six-feature-length-films epic, according to information released by HBO regarding the running time of the season 8’s episodes.

Long rumored to be a season of full-length features that would close out the blockbuster series’ run, season 8 of Game of Thrones will actually clock in at an average episode length of 72 minutes. Although that’s longer than the show’s typical episode running time of under 60 minutes, it still falls short of the feature-length 90-120 minutes some reports indicated for the final six episodes of the series.

Recommended Videos

As initially reported by Entertainment Weekly, the running time for the final six episodes of Game of Thrones will max out at 82 minutes for episode 3, with the shortest episode — the season 8 premiere — clocking in at 54 minutes. HBO released a breakdown of running times and air dates for the season that offered the following information:

Season 8, episode 1

Debut date: 9 p.m. (ET/PT) Sunday, April 14

Estimated running time: 0:54

Season 8, episode 2

Debut date: 9 p.m. (ET/PT) Sunday, April 21

Estimated running time: 0:58

Season 8, episode 3

Debut date: 9 p.m. (ET/PT) Sunday, April 28

Estimated running time: 1:22

Season 8, episode 4

Debut date: 9 p.m. (ET/PT) Sunday, May 5

Estimated running time: 1:18

Season 8, episode 5

Debut date: 9 p.m. (ET/PT) Sunday, May 12

Estimated running time: 1:20

Season 8, episode 6

Debut date: 9 p.m. (ET/PT) Sunday, May 19

Estimated running time: 1:20

The rumors regarding a season of feature-length episodes began circulating in earnest in January after HBO CEO Richard Plepler said of the season, “It’s a spectacle. The guys have done six movies.

“The reaction I had while watching them was, ‘I’m watching a movie.'” he continued.

Plepler’s comments now seem to have been a mix of hype and more of an assessment of the season’s cinematic tone, not its format. However, with both the cast and creative team indicating that the climactic battle that will decide the fates of the Game of Thrones characters will rival any movie sequence of that sort, there is reason to be optimistic that season 8 of Game of Thrones will still feel like a set of movies in one way or another.

Season 8 of Game of Thrones premieres April 14 on HBO.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Rick Marshall
Rick Marshall
Former Digital Trends Contributor
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
HBO drops 2 dueling trailers for House of the Dragon season 2
A man preps for battle in House of the Dragon season 2.

Why weren't there any dragons at the beginning of Game of Thrones? It's largely because of the events depicted in the prequel series, House of the Dragon. Despite having control over the seven kingdoms of Westeros, the Targaryen family just couldn't stop themselves from destroying each other. The march to war unfolded over many years in season 1, but now there's only room for one person on the Iron Throne. The just-released first two trailers for House of the Dragon season 2 invite viewers to pick a side between the Black and the Green.

House of the Dragon | Official Black Trailer | Max

Read more
We finally know the price of Asus’ most powerful gaming NUC
The Asus ROG NUC on a desk surrounded by three monitors.

The first Asus ROG NUC (Next Unit of Computing) model is just around the corner. The small form factor PC is now up for pre-order at a German retailer, and although it's powerful enough to rival some of the best laptops, it costs more than many comparable models -- and you'll still have to pay extra for a monitor.

Asus' first take on Intel's portable PC contains a lot of compute power in a small chassis. Although there are a few configurations of the PC, the one that was spotted up for sale ahead of time comes with Intel's latest Meteor Lake-H CPU, the Core Ultra 9 185H, which sports 16 cores and 22 threads and can be boosted to run at up to 5.1GHz, all with a thermal design power (TDP) of 45 watts. However, Asus allows overclocking, meaning that the CPU can run at up to 65 watts instead.

Read more
Squid Game season 2: Everything we know so far
A man looks at a man in uniform in Squid Game season 2.

Following a hugely successful first season that surprised virtually everyone, many fans are eager for the potential return of Squid Game. In its first season, the show followed a group of contestants competing against one another in a series of children's games with deadly stakes.

Some of those playing the game would die, and the rest would move on to the next round. Ultimately, a single winner emerged, rewarded with an insanely large cash prize. As many wonder about what season 2 could contain, here's what we know so far about the hit Netflix show's future:
What will season 2 of Squid Game be about?
Squid Game | Official Trailer | Netflix

Read more