hbo

Most Game of Thrones viewers could explain the politics of Westeros with more familiarity than their own country, but this week’s historic and controversial Brexit vote might just bridge the gap in an alarming way. Pulling Northern Ireland out of the European Union might have a detrimental effect on the final two Game of Thrones seasons, one of many productions affected by the move.

Mere days ago, Curb Your Enthusiasm star J.B. Smoove stirred the ever-swirling pot of Season 9 rumors with reports that creator Larry David was thinking about coming back, but few knew how seriously to take them. Well, prettay, pretty, prettay great news for all, as HBO officially confirms Curb Your Enthusiasm returning for Season 9!

Game of Thrones seems to dole out more fanservice than ever in Season 6, Sunday’s “The Broken Man” confirming another huge return readers have anticipated for years. Its reflection in the books remains to be seen, but said character “was always going to come back,” says writer-producer Bryan Cogman, with several different ideas considered.

Deadwood boss David Milch supposedly has stacks of scripts ready to go for an all-but-greenlit HBO revival, but hasn’t yet finalized a deal with the cable network, especially after its recent regime change. That said, series star Ian McShane is still more than game to return, suggesting a deal might be finalized as early as late 2016.

‘Game of Thrones’ spills very little “Blood of My Blood” for an otherwise hugely revelatory hour for book readers, but were the big showdowns in Kings’ Landing and with Sam’s family all flash, no substance? And what should we make of that huge Season 1 return? Find out in our full review!

It’s hard to believe we’re more than halfway through the sixth season of Game of Thrones, given all its colossal buildup, but like any season, the wars to come will hit a fever pitch in the final hours. So it is, that reportedly leaked episode titles for Season 6's final three outings tease a big moment for Arya, an even bigger battle, and a title George R.R. Martin can be proud of.

Relieved though we are to have all those Jon Snow shenanigans behind us on Game of Thrones, we’ll admit that stars and producers did an admirable job clinging to the barely-there secrecy of Kit Harington’s return. Well, all except Harington himself, perhaps, who apparently spoiled the good news to a police officer in exchange for getting off with a warning.

Even as the direwolf’s out of the bag with regard to Jon Snow, Game of Thrones Season 6 isn’t about to lift its veil of secrecy just yet. Cue the latest maddeningly cryptic synopses, previewing May 15's “Book of the Stranger” and May 22 outing “The Door.” Wild speculation awaits!

Lord knows we’ve missed the genius of Jon Stewart’s late-night voice in these troubled times, and it’s been some time since HBO signed the former Daily Show host to a four-year development deal. We wouldn’t expect Stewart to suit up again behind a desk just yet, but HBO now believes the late-night veteran will return to active TV duty just in time for the 2016 election.

It seems almost silly to discuss Sunday’s Game of Thrones without pointing toward the inevitable obvious, that the character everyone thought would come back to life … came back to life. Viewers perhaps weren’t expecting the twist quite so soon, but now it seems the erstwhile corpse of Jon Snow may put in more time with Season 6 than any prior year.

Look, there’s no easy way around it: the Game of Thrones thing we’ve all known was going to happen finally happened at the climax of Sunday’s “Home,” returning a fan-favorite. No longer the subject of intense scrutiny, said favorite has now apologized for lying to the fans all year, while showrunners take us inside the scene.

‘Game of Thrones’ at last returns for Season 6 to answer the burning Jon Snow mystery of “The Red Woman,” but was the wait all for naught? What other shocking twists and unexpected deaths filled our first off-book season premiere? Find out in our full review!