Few TV shows inspire the intense fandom Game of Thrones does, illustrated most recently by hundreds of thousands of viewers watching a livestream of ice melting.
The HBO fantasy series revealed the date it'll return on Friday morning by wearing down a huge block of ice with dragon-like flames.
Technical issues with the livestream made the delay even more excruciating for fans, but finally it was revealed as July 16.
The season seven premiere date - which will be July 17 in New Zealand - is later than all previous seasons of the show, causing more anguish for some fans.
"I watched ice melt for an hour for this, now I gotta wait until July for it to start," said one Facebook commenter, together with crying emoji.
Following the premiere date reveal, a brief teaser trailer was shown with graphics representing the Westeros house sigils as quotes from various characters played.
It's promising something epic for when winter is coming - which, as it turns out, will be in the dead of winter for Kiwis.
Newshub.