Game Of Thrones Season 8: How Many Episodes Are Left, Dates, And Runtimes

Season 8 of Game of Thrones is officially underway. As of this writing, we're halfway through the show's final season, meaning there are just three episodes left before the nearly decade-long journey (or more than twice that, for book readers) reaches its conclusion.

The specific running times of individual episodes is rarely discussed in the build-up to a new season of a TV show--but most shows aren't Game of Thrones. For more than a year there has been much speculation about how long each of the six episodes in Season 8 will be. Back in March, HBO revealed these running times, which are outlined below alongside their premiere dates.

The first two episodes were fairly standard, clocking in at under an hour. As we were led to believe, subsequent episodes will run much longer. All of them are around the 80 minute mark, which supports HBO boss Richard Plepler's description of the final season as like "watching a movie." Episode 3 brought us the Battle of Winterfell, marking the show's longest-ever episode and its biggest battle sequence.

Game Of Thrones Season 8 Episodes, Dates, And Runtimes

• Episode 1: 54 mins (April 14) -- read our review
• Episode 2: 58 mins (April 21) -- read our review
• Episode 3: 82 mins (April 28) -- read our review
• Episode 4: 78 mins (May 5) -- watch the preview
• Episode 5: 80 mins (May 12)
• Episode 6: 80 mins (May 19)

If you're all caught up, be sure to check out our collection of Easter eggs and references from Episode 3. We also have some new theories, post-Battle of Winterfell, for where things could be going. We know the action is set to shift back toward King's Landing, where Cersei and the Golden Company were awaiting the outcome of the battle between the living and the dead. With the good guys having won--but suffered major casualties--Cersei will surely be feeling better about her army's readiness. One element that remains to be seen is the strength of the dragons; we know Rhaegal made it out despite his disappearance, but what kind of shape is he in?

Although Game of Thrones is nearing the end, there is a prequel spin-off on the way. X-Men: First Class' Jane Goldman will serve as showrunner and has developed the story with creator George RR Martin. The show is expected to start filming early this summer, and premiere in 2020 or 2021. Meanwhile, another of the spin-offs that HBO was considering has been canceled.