'Game of Thrones'
A still from the HBO TV series "Game of Thrones." Facebook/ Game of Thrones

The official release date of “Game of Thrones” season 8 is yet to be announced, but the fans have been busy speculating. The fans are mostly basing their assumptions on interviews of the cast and crew of the show. There has been a lot of concern after one such interview suggested that the show’s return will be delayed till the mid of 2019, but this is not accurate.

The show is expected to return by early 2019. This is what everyone is looking forward to. However, in an interview with TheHuffingtonPost, the Visual Effects Supervisor of the show Joe Bauer said that the TV series may not be eligible for an Emmy for the next two years, which led to a lot of concern about the possible delay in the air date.

In order to be eligible for the award the show must air before May 31 in 2019. If the show will not be eligible it means that the last season will only premiere in June or later. This goes against the fans expectation that the show will start airing in March or by April.

Responding to the concern, a representative from HBO has confirmed that the show will air in “the first half” of 2019, “despite VFX going into May.”

A report by EntertainmentWeekly further clarifies that first half of next year “means exactly that.” HBO reportedly expects to air all the episodes in the last season of the popular TV series in time to be eligible for the 2019 Emmy awards.

“Game of Thrones” has been a favourite at the Emmy awards. In the past few years that the show has been on air and eligible for the awards it has been nominated over 100 times in various categories, including outstanding drama series. Cast member Peter Dinklage has won in the best supporting actor category two times for playing Tyrion Lannister.