Game of Thrones final season to air in first half of 2019

HBO has revealed the final season of Game of Thrones will air in the "first half" of 2019.

HBO President of Programming, Casey Bloys, made the announcement at the Television Critics Association's Summer Press Tour.

"I'm not going to talk about what to expect [from the final season] although it's pretty great," he said.

"I don't think we've announced a date yet so sometime in '19 ...first half."

Very little is known about the sixth and final season, but the stars of the popular show have let slip little bits of information here and there.

Bloys also gave fans the scoop on the first of the five spin-offs being planned.

"We are doing a pilot that Jane Goodman wrote, Out of five, we'd be lucky to get one that we're very excited about," he said.

Bloys said they are starting to look for a director and casting director.

HBO have previously described the spin-off as: "Taking place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones, the series chronicles the world's descent from the golden Age of Heroes into the darkest hour."

Based on George R R Martin's book series A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones launched in 2011 and has become an international hit.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission.