HBO Announces 'Game Of Thrones' Season 6 Premiere Date; 'Veep' And 'Silicon Valley' Also Returning

HBO's sessions for the Television Critics Association began with a major Game of Thrones announcement. With fans in turmoil over the fate of Jon Snow for nearly a year now, HBO has confirmed that the sixth season will premiere on Sunday, April 24 at 9PM. Sunday night being HBO's big original programming night, Game of Thrones season six's premiere will be followed by the returns of Silicon Valley and Veep. 

Season five of Game of Thrones ended (spoiler alert!) seemingly with the death of Jon Snow. It wouldn't be unheard of for a show that decapitated its lead in the first season. However, there has been much speculation that Jon Snow survived, fueled in large part by teasers and billboards featuring Kit Harington. That and more will be resolved beginning April 24.

We do know the next season will bring back Isaac Hempstead-Wright as Bran Stark, who hasn't been seen since the end of the fourth season. Fresh faces this season include Freddie Stroma, James Faulkner, Samantha Spiro, Rebecca Benson, Richard E. Grant, Essie Davis, Max von Sydow, Ian McShane, and Pilou Asbæk. The upcoming shows will bring the series into uncharted territory, as the series has officially outpaced George R.R. Martin's books.

Meanwhile, Veep will be entering its fifth season, and its first without series creator Armando Iannucci. David Mandel replaces Iannucci as showrunner. The last season ended with a cliffhanger, as Selina (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) waited to see how the presidential election would pan out.

Silicon Valley is kicking off its third season. Season two ended with a big corporate shakeup for Pied Piper. Among the new characters coming to Silicon Valley this season are a tech CEO played by Stephen Tobolowsky.

The April 24 premiere date for all three shows is slightly later than usual. This year, HBO opted to premiere the ten-episode first season of Vinyl in mid-February, which subsequently pushed back the network's spring lineup.

More on Game of Thrones and other HBO shows here at Slashfilm.