Game of Thrones (season 7)
The seventh and penultimate season of the fantasy drama television series Game of Thrones premiered on HBO on July 16, 2017, and concluded on August 27, 2017. Unlike previous seasons, which consisted of ten episodes each, the seventh season consisted of only seven episodes. Like the previous season, it largely consisted of original content not found in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, while also incorporating material that Martin revealed to showrunners about the upcoming novels in the series. The series was adapted for television by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss.
The penultimate season focuses on the convergence of the show's main plotlines in preparation for the final season. Daenerys Targaryen arrives in Westeros with her army and three large dragons and begins to wage war against the Lannisters, who have defeated her allies in the south and west of Westeros. Jon Snow leaves Sansa in charge of Winterfell and visits Daenerys to secure her help to defeat the White Walkers and the Army of the Dead. He mines the dragonglass at Dragonstone and begins a romance with Daenerys. Meanwhile Arya and Bran return home to Winterfell; the Starks execute the treacherous Littlefinger. Tyrion persuades Daenerys not to destroy King's Landing, reminding her that she does not want to be simply a queen of ashes. Instead, Jon goes North above the wall to capture a wight to prove to Cersei that the fearsome army of the dead exist and are coming; in doing so, his group is pinned down and nearly killed. Daenerys rescues them with her dragons, but the Night King kills one of her dragons and makes it part of his army. The undead dragon later destroys part of the Wall, and the dead march through. Bran learns that Jon is really his cousin, Aegon Targaryen, the legitimate heir to the Iron Throne.
HBO ordered the seventh season on April 21, 2016, three days before the premiere of the show's sixth season, and began filming on August 31, 2016. The season was filmed primarily in Northern Ireland, Spain, Croatia and Iceland.
Game of Thrones features a large ensemble cast, including Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, and Kit Harington. The season introduces several new cast members, including Jim Broadbent and Tom Hopper.
The series received 22 nominations for the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards, and won for Outstanding Drama Series and Dinklage won for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
Episodes
Cast
Main cast
Guest cast
The recurring actors listed here are those who appeared in season 7. They are listed by the region in which they first appear.In the North, including the Wall
- Richard Dormer as Beric Dondarrion
- Paul Kaye as Thoros of Myr
- Ben Crompton as Eddison Tollett
- Ellie Kendrick as Meera Reed
- Bella Ramsey as Lyanna Mormont
- Tim McInnerny as Robett Glover
- Megan Parkinson as Alys Karstark
- Daniel Portman as Podrick Payne
- Richard Rycroft as Maester Wolkan
- Rupert Vansittart as Yohn Royce
Beyond the Wall
- Vladimir Furdik as the Night King
- Joseph Mawle as Benjen Stark
- Neil Fingleton as giant wight
- Ian Whyte as giant wight
In the Riverlands
- David Bradley as Walder Frey
- Ben Hawkey as Hot Pie
In King's Landing
- Pilou Asbæk as Euron Greyjoy
- Anton Lesser as Qyburn
- Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as Gregor Clegane
- James Faulkner as Randyll Tarly
- Tom Hopper as Dickon Tarly
- Mark Gatiss as Tycho Nestoris
In Oldtown
- Jim Broadbent as Archmaester Ebrose
At Dragonstone
- Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm
- Diana Rigg as Olenna Tyrell
- Gemma Whelan as Yara Greyjoy
- Jessica Henwick as Nymeria Sand
- Rosabell Laurenti Sellers as Tyene Sand
- Keisha Castle-Hughes as Obara Sand
- Brendan Cowell as Harrag
- Staz Nair as Qhono
In flashbacks
- Aisling Franciosi as Lyanna Stark
- Wilf Scolding as Rhaegar Targaryen
- Robert Aramayo as Eddard Stark
Production
Crew
Series creators and executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss serve as showrunners for the seventh season. The directors for the seventh season are Jeremy Podeswa, Mark Mylod, Matt Shakman and Alan Taylor. This marks Taylor's return to the series after an absence since the second season. Shakman is a first-time Game of Thrones director, with the rest each having directed multiple episodes in previous seasons. Michele Clapton returned to the show as costume designer, after spending some time away from the show in the sixth season. She previously worked on the show for the first five seasons, as well as the end of the sixth season.Writing
The seventh season contains original material not found in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. Some of the show's sixth season also consists of material revealed to the writers of the television series during discussions with Martin.Filming
Filming began on August 31, 2016, at Titanic Studios in Belfast, and ended in February 2017. In an interview with the showrunners, it was announced that the filming of the seventh season would be delayed until later in the year due to necessary weather conditions for filming. The showrunners stated "We're starting a bit later because, you know, at the end of this season, winter is here, and that means that sunny weather doesn't really serve our purposes any more. We kind of pushed everything down the line so we could get some grim, gray weather even in the sunnier places that we shoot."Girona, Spain, did not return as one of the filming locations. Girona stood in for Braavos and parts of King's Landing. It was later announced that the seventh season would film in Northern Ireland, Spain and Iceland, with filming in Northern Ireland beginning in August 2016. The series filmed in the Spanish cities Seville, Cáceres, Almodóvar del Río, Santiponce, Zumaia and Bermeo. Spanish sources announced that the series would be filming the seventh season on Muriola Beach in Barrika, Las Atarazanas, the Royal Dockyards of Seville and at the shores of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, an islet belonging to the city of Bermeo. The series returned to film at The Dark Hedges in Stranocum, which was previously used as the Kingsroad in the second season. Some scenes were filmed in Iceland. Filming also occurred in Dubrovnik, Croatia, which is used for location of King's Landing. The scene where Arya was reunited with Nymeria was filmed in Alberta, Canada.
Casting
Deadline reported on June 21, 2016, that the five main cast members, Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, and Kit Harington had been in contract negotiations for the final two seasons. It was reported that the cast members have increased their salary to $500,000 per episode for the seventh and eighth season. It was later reported that the actors had gone through a renegotiation, for which they had increased their salary to $1.1 million per episode for the last two seasons.On August 31, 2016, Entertainment Weekly reported that Jim Broadbent had been cast for the seventh season in a "significant" role. It was announced that the role of Dickon Tarly has been recast, with Tom Hopper replacing Freddie Stroma, who had previously played the role in "Blood of My Blood". The seventh season sees the return of Mark Gatiss as Tycho Nestoris, who did not appear in the sixth season, Ben Hawkey as Hot Pie, who last appeared in the fourth season, and Joe Dempsie as Gendry, who last appeared in the third season and maintains his status as starring cast member. Members of the British indie pop band Bastille were reported to have filmed cameo appearances. British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran also makes a cameo appearance in the season. Frontman of American heavy metal band Mastodon, Brent Hinds, has also revealed he would have a cameo appearance. This is Hinds' second cameo in the series, following his appearance in the fifth season. New York Mets baseball pitcher Noah Syndergaard made a background cameo as a javelin-throwing Lannister soldier in "The Spoils of War."
Episodes
On April 21, 2016, HBO officially ordered the seventh season of Game of Thrones, just three days prior to the premiere of the show's sixth season. In a June 2016 interview with Variety, co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss revealed the seventh season would likely consist of fewer episodes, stating at the time of the interview that they were "down to our final 13 episodes after this season. We're heading into the final lap." Director Jack Bender, who worked on the show's sixth season, said that the seventh season would consist of seven episodes. Benioff and Weiss stated that they were unable to produce 10 episodes in the show's usual 12 to 14 month time frame, as Weiss said "It's crossing out of a television schedule into more of a mid-range movie schedule." HBO confirmed on July 18, 2016, that the seventh season would consist of seven episodes, and would premiere later than usual in mid-2017 because of the later filming schedule. Later it was confirmed that the season would debut on July 16. The seventh season includes an 81-minute finale; this was the series' longest episode until it was surpassed by the Season 8 episode "The Long Night", which is 82 minutes. Season 7's penultimate episode also runs for 71 minutes – around 16 minutes longer than an average Game of Thrones episode. The first five episodes mostly run longer than average, at 59, 59, 63, 50, and 59 minutes respectively. The previous longest episode in the series was the sixth-season finale, "The Winds of Winter", which ran for 69 minutes.Music
returned as the composer of the show for the seventh season.Reception
Critical response
On Metacritic, the season has a score of 77 out of 100 based on 12 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes, the seventh season has a 93% approval rating from 51 critics with an average rating of 8.22 out of 10, with the site's consensus reading, "After a year-long wait, Game of Thrones roars back with powerful storytelling and a focused interest in its central characters—particularly the female ones."Ratings
The series premiere surpassed 30 million viewers across all of the network's domestic platforms weeks after its release. The show's numbers continued to climb in other countries as well. In the UK, the premiere got up to 4.7 million viewers after seven days, setting a new record for Sky Atlantic. Compared to the previous season, HBO Asia saw an increases of between 24 percent to 50 percent. HBO Latin America saw a record viewership in the region, with a 29 percent climb. In Germany, the show went up 210 percent, in Russia it climbed 40 percent and in Italy it saw a 61 percent increase. In the United States, the finale was watched by 12.1 million viewers on its first airing on television, and 16.5 million when viewings on HBO Now and HBO Go apps are included. Over the season, the viewer numbers averaged at over 30 million per episode across all platforms.Live +7 ratings were not available, so Live +3 ratings have been used instead.
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result | |
| 2017 | American Film Institute Awards 2017 | AFI TV Award | Game of Thrones | ||
| 2017 | 2017 American Society of Cinematographers Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Regular Series for Non-Commercial Television | Robert McLachlan | ||
| 2017 | 2017 American Society of Cinematographers Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Regular Series for Non-Commercial Television | Gregory Middleton | ||
| 2017 | IGN Awards | Best Action Series | Game of Thrones | ||
| 2017 | IGN Awards | Best TV Episode | "The Spoils of War" | ||
| 2017 | IGN People's Choice Award | Best Action Series | Game of Thrones | ||
| 2017 | IGN People's Choice Award | Best TV Episode | "The Spoils of War" | ||
| 2017 | Humanitas Prize | 60 Minute Network or Syndicated Television | David Benioff, D. B. Weiss | ||
| 2017 | Hollywood Post Alliance | Outstanding Color Grading | Joe Finley | ||
| 2017 | Hollywood Post Alliance | Outstanding Editing | Tim Porter | ||
| 2017 | Hollywood Post Alliance | Outstanding Editing | Jesse Parker | ||
| 2017 | Hollywood Post Alliance | Outstanding Editing | Crispin Green | ||
| 2017 | Hollywood Post Alliance | Outstanding Sound | Tim Kimmel, Paula Fairfield, Mathew Waters, Onnalee Blank, Bradley C. Katona, Paul Bercovitch | ||
| 2018 | 22nd Satellite Awards | Best Genre Series | Game of Thrones | ||
| 2018 | 23rd National Television Awards | Best Drama | Game of Thrones | ||
| 2018 | 8th Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Drama Series | Game of Thrones | ||
| 2018 | 8th Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Peter Dinklage | ||
| 2018 | 8th Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Emilia Clarke | ||
| 2018 | 75th Golden Globe Awards | Best Television Series – Drama | Game of Thrones | ||
| 2018 | 24th Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Game of Thrones | ||
| 2018 | 24th Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series | Game of Thrones | ||
| 2018 | 24th Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series | Peter Dinklage | ||
| 2018 | 60th Annual Grammy Awards | Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media | Ramin Djawadi | ||
| 2018 | American Cinema Editors Awards 2018 | Best Edited Drama Series for Non-Commercial Television | Tim Porter | ||
| 2018 | 45th Annie Awards | Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in a Live Action Production | Paul Story, Todd Labonte, Matthew Muntean, Cajun Hylton, Georgy Arevshatov | ||
| 2018 | Art Directors Guild Awards 2017 | One-Hour Single Camera Period Or Fantasy Television Series | Deborah Riley | ||
| 2018 | Cinema Audio Society Awards 2017 | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing – Television Series – One Hour | Ronan Hill, Richard Dyer, Onnalee Blank, Mathew Waters, Brett Voss | ||
| 2018 | Costume Designers Guild Awards 2017 | Outstanding Fantasy Television Series | Michele Clapton | ||
| 2018 | 70th Directors Guild of America Awards | Dramatic Series | Jeremy Podeswa | ||
| 2018 | 70th Directors Guild of America Awards | Dramatic Series | Matt Shakman | ||
| 2018 | 70th Directors Guild of America Awards | Dramatic Series | Alan Taylor | ||
| 2018 | Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild | Best Period and/or Character Makeup – Television | Jane Walker, Nicola Matthews | ||
| 2018 | Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild | Best Period and/or Character Hair Styling – Television | Kevin Alexander, Candice Banks | ||
| 2018 | Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild | Best Special Makeup Effects – Television | Barrie Gower, Sarah Gower | ||
| 2018 | Producers Guild of America Awards 2017 | "The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama" | David Benioff, D. B. Weiss, Bernadette Caulfield, Frank Doelger, Carolyn Strauss, Bryan Cogman, Lisa McAtackney, Chris Newman, Greg Spence | ||
| 2018 | Writers Guild of America Awards 2017 | David Benioff, Bryan Cogman, Dave Hill, D. B. Weiss | |||
| 2018 | 16th Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode | Joe Bauer, Steve Kullback, Chris Baird, David Ramos, Sam Conway | ||
| 2018 | 16th Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode or Real-Time Project | Paul Story, Todd Labonte, Matthew Muntean, Nicholas Wilson | ||
| 2018 | 16th Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode or Real-Time Project | Jonathan Symmonds, Thomas Kutschera, Philipp Winterstein, Andreas Krieg | ||
| 2018 | 16th Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode or Real-Time Project | Murray Stevenson, Jason Snyman, Jenn Taylor, Florian Friedmann | ||
| 2018 | 16th Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial or Real-Time Project | Daniel Villalba, Antonio Lado, José Luis Barreiro, Isaac de la Pompa | ||
| 2018 | 16th Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial or Real-Time Project | Patrice Poissant, Deak Ferrand, Dominic Daigle, Gabriel Morin | ||
| 2018 | 16th Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project | Manuel Ramírez, Óscar Márquez, Pablo Hernández, David Gacituaga | ||
| 2018 | 16th Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project | Thomas Hullin, Dominik Kirouac, Sylvain Nouveau, Nathan Arbuckle | ||
| 2018 | 16th Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Episode | Óscar Perea, Santiago Martos, David Esteve, Michael Crane | ||
| 2018 | 16th Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Episode | Thomas Montminy Brodeur, Xavier Fourmond, Reuben Barkataki, Sébastien Raets | ||
| 2018 | 16th Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Episode | Dom Hellier, Thijs Noij, Edwin Holdsworth, Giacomo Matteucci | ||
| 2018 | Golden Reel Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing - Episodic Short Form – Effects/Foley | Tim Kimmel, Paula Fairfield, Bradley Katona, Brett Voss and Jeffrey Wilhoit | ||
| 2018 | Golden Reel Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing - Episodic Short Form – Dialogue/ADR | Tim Kimmel, Paul Bercovitch and Tim Hands | ||
| 2018 | Golden Reel Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing - Episodic Short Form – Music/Musical | David Klotz | ||
| 2018 | 15th Irish Film & Television Awards | Best Television Drama | Game of Thrones | ||
| 2018 | 15th Irish Film & Television Awards | Actor in a Supporting Role – Television | Liam Cunningham | ||
| 2018 | 15th Irish Film & Television Awards | Actor in a Supporting Role – Television | Aidan Gillen | ||
| 2018 | 15th Irish Film & Television Awards | Best Sound | Ronan Hill, Onnalee Blank and Matthew Waters | ||
| 2018 | 15th Irish Film & Television Awards | Best VFX | Ed Bruce & Nicholas Murphy | ||
| 2018 | 5th Location Managers Guild Awards | Outstanding Locations in a Period Television Series | Robert Boake, Matt Jones, Tate Araez Guzman | ||
| 2018 | 44th Saturn Awards | Best Fantasy Television Series | Game of Thrones | ||
| 2018 | 44th Saturn Awards | Best Actress on a Television Series | Lena Headey | ||
| 2018 | 44th Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor on a Television Series | Kit Harington | ||
| 2018 | 44th Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor on a Television Series | Nikolaj Coster-Waldau | ||
| 2018 | 2018 British Academy Television Awards | Must-See Moment | "Viserion is Killed by the Night King" | ||
| 2018 | 2018 British Academy Television Craft Awards | Costume Design | Michele Clapton | ||
| 2018 | 2018 British Academy Television Craft Awards | Production Design | Deborah Riley, Rob Cameron | ||
| 2018 | 2018 British Academy Television Craft Awards | Special Award | Game of Thrones | ||
| 2018 | Webby Award | Best Overall Social Presence | Game of Thrones | ||
| 2018 | Webby Award | Best Trailer | Game of Thrones | ||
| 2018 | Webby Award | Best Digital Campaign | Game of Thrones | ||
| 2018 | 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best Show | Game of Thrones | ||
| 2018 | 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best Performance in a Show | Maisie Williams | ||
| 2018 | 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best Hero | Emilia Clarke | ||
| 2018 | 2018 Gold Derby Awards | Best Drama Series | Game of Thrones | ||
| 2018 | 2018 Gold Derby Awards | Ensemble of the Year | The cast of Game of Thrones | ||
| 2018 | 2018 Gold Derby Awards | Best Drama Supporting Actor | Peter Dinklage | ||
| 2018 | 2018 Gold Derby Awards | Best Drama Supporting Actress | Lena Headey | ||
| 2018 | 2018 Gold Derby Awards | Best Drama Guest Actress | Diana Rigg | ||
| 2018 | 2018 Gold Derby Awards | Best Drama Episode | "Beyond the Wall" | ||
| 2018 | 2018 Gold Derby Awards | Best Drama Episode | "The Spoils of War" | ||
| 2018 | 70th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Drama Series | |||
| 2018 | 70th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Nikolaj Coster-Waldau | ||
| 2018 | 70th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Peter Dinklage | ||
| 2018 | 70th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Lena Headey | ||
| 2018 | 70th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series | Alan Taylor | ||
| 2018 | 70th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series | Jeremy Podeswa | ||
| 2018 | 70th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series | David Benioff and D. B. Weiss | ||
| 2018 | 70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series | Nina Gold, Robert Sterne, and Carla Stronge | ||
| 2018 | 70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Costumes for a Fantasy/Sci-Fi Series | Michele Clapton, Alexander Fordham, Emma O'Loughlin, Kate O'Farrell, | ||
| 2018 | 70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | Diana Rigg | ||
| 2018 | 70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Hairstyling for a Single-Camera Series | Kevin Alexander, Candice Banks, Nicola Mount, Rosalia Culora | ||
| 2018 | 70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Make-up for a Single-Camera Series | Jane Walker, Kay Bilk, Marianna Kyriacou, Pamela Smyth, Kate Thompson, Nicola Mathews | ||
| 2018 | 70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Production Design for a Fantasy Program | Deborah Riley, Paul Ghirardani, Rob Cameron | ||
| 2018 | 70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series | Jane Walker, Paul Spateri, Emma Sheffield, Barrie Gower | ||
| 2018 | 70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series | Tim Porter | ||
| 2018 | 70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series | Crispin Green | ||
| 2018 | 70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series | Katie Weiland | ||
| 2018 | 70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Music Composition for a Series | Ramin Djawadi | ||
| 2018 | 70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama series | Tim Kimmel, Paula Fairfield, Tim Hands, Paul Bercovitch, Bradley C. Katona, John Matter, Brett Voss, David Klotz, Jeffrey Wilhoit, Dylan T. Wilhoit | ||
| 2018 | 70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Series | Onnalee Blank, Mathew Waters, Richard Dyer, Ronan Hill | ||
| 2018 | 70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Special Visual Effects | Steve Kullback, Joe Bauer, Adam Chazen, Michelle Blok, Sam Conway, Ted Rae, David Ramos, Wayne Stables, Derek Spears | ||
| 2018 | 70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Series | Rowley Irlam |
Release
Broadcast
The season was simulcast around the world by HBO and its broadcast partners in 186 countries. In some countries, it aired the day after its first release.Marketing
On July 23, 2016, a teaser production trailer was released by HBO at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con. The trailer mostly consisted of voice overs, and shots of crew members creating sets and props. The first footage from the season was revealed in a new promotional video released by HBO highlighting its new and returning original shows for the coming year on November 28, 2016, showcasing Jon Snow, Sansa Stark and Arya Stark.On March 1, 2017, HBO and Game of Thrones teamed up with Major League Baseball for a cross-promotional partnership. At least 19 individual teams participated in this promotion. On March 8, 2017, HBO released the first promotional poster for the season ahead of the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, which teases the battle of "ice vs. fire". Showrunners Benioff and Weiss also spoke at the event, along with fellow cast members Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams.
On March 9, 2017, HBO hosted a live stream on the Game of Thrones Facebook page that revealed the premiere date for the seventh season as being July 16, 2017. It was accompanied by a teaser trailer. On March 30, 2017, the first official promo for the show was released, highlighting the thrones of Daenerys Targaryen, Jon Snow, and Cersei Lannister. On April 20, 2017, HBO released 15 official photos shot during the season. On May 22, 2017, HBO released several new photos from the new season. On May 23, 2017, HBO released the official posters featuring the Night King. The first official trailer for season 7 was released on May 24, 2017. The trailer set a world record for being the most viewed show trailer ever, being viewed 61 million times across digital platforms, in the first 24 hours. The second official trailer was released on June 21, 2017. The season premiere was screened at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on July 12, 2017.
Home media
The season was released on Blu-ray and DVD in region 1 on December 12, 2017.Illegal distribution
The season premiere was pirated 90 million times in the first three days after it aired. On August 4, 2017, it was reported that, two days before its original broadcast, the fourth episode of the season was leaked online from Star India, one of HBO's international network partners. The leaked copy has the "for internal viewing only" watermark. On July 31, 2017, due to a security breach, HBO was the victim of 1.5 terabytes of stolen data. However, "this was not related to this episode leak", according to The Verge. On August 16, 2017, four days before its intended release, it was reported that HBO Spain and HBO Nordic accidentally allowed the sixth episode of the series on-demand viewing for one hour before being removed.Data from piracy monitoring firm MUSO indicates that season seven was pirated more than one billion times mostly by unauthorized streaming, with torrent and direct downloads accounting for about 15 percent of this piracy. On average, each episode is estimated to have been pirated 140 million times, making Game of Thrones the most-pirated television series in 2017.