Game of Thrones Season 5: George R. R. Martin to Focus on Winds of Winter
George R.R. Martin, author of the "Song of Ice and Fire" fantasy series that is the basis of the television series "Game of Thrones", gestures during his masterclass at the Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF) in Neuchatel July 10, 2014. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

The premiere date for season 5 of HBO's popular fantasy series "Game of Thrones" has finally been announced. Fans now know that they only need to wait until April 12, 2014 to watch the premiere episode. The show will maintain its original 9:00 p.m. time slot. The series will have 10 episodes just like the previous seasons and is expected to run until mid-June.

BREAKING: @GameOfThrones, @SiliconHBO & @VeepHBO will debut back-to-back on Sunday, April 12, starting at 9: http://t.co/sbdJp8zynC #TCA15

— HBO PR (@HBOPR) January 8, 2015

HBO has announced the official premiere date this Thursday to the delight of the shows' legions of fans. The official HBO PR twitter account shared the good news that quickly spread on social media. The show started to air early April since the last four seasons and this year won't be an exception. Some of the lucky cast members whose characters would continue to appear in Season 5 are Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Kit Harington, Natalie Dormer, Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner.

Meanwhile, Isaac Hempstead-Wright and Kristian Nairn, who play Bran Stark and Hodor, respectively, won't be returning to reprise their roles during Season 5. The show is based on the book series entitled "A Song of Ice and Fire" and Bran and Hodor's story line has already advanced well into the fifth book. Other characters are now only into the third or fourth book at the end of the fourth season of the TV show. Everybody needs to catch up and so does George RR Martin who is under pressure to release the sixth book of the series. Fans have been clamouring for the next book installment to put to rest all the theories that have come out about what happens next.

The much anticipated premiere of Season 5 will be preceded by a sneak peek at the end of January when a trailer will be released. The trailer will be shown during the screenings of the last two Season 4 episodes to be held in selected IMAX theatres around the United States from Jan. 23-29.

Along with the premiere of "Game of Thrones," two other HBO shows will start airing back-to-back episodes on the same date. According to the announcement, "Veep" and "Silicon Valley" will begin airing that same Sunday night.