Winter is coming -- ahead of time?
Fans have been waiting to watch the season 8 premiere of HBO's hit Game of Thrones since season 7 ended in August 2017. But some lucky DirecTV Now customers were gifted an early glimpse at the premiere.
The first episode of Game of Thrones' final season briefly was available to DirecTV Now customers four hours early, at 2 p.m. PT on Sunday. The episode is now available to watch and you can read our recap here.
"Apparently our system was as excited as we are for Game of Thrones tonight and gave a few DirectTV Now customers early access to the episode by mistake," the company said in a statement. "When we became aware of the error, we immediately fixed it and we look forward to tuning in this evening."
Numerous fans shared screengrabs and wonderment on social media.
"I think DirectTV Now screwed up," wrote one Twitter user. "But I get to watch Game of Thrones three hours early."
So this is season 8. I think @directvnow screwed up. But I get to watch @GameOfThrones 3 hours early. pic.twitter.com/j13hJL1its
— Coach Carle (@Coach_Carle) April 14, 2019
Game of thrones Streaming early on Direct TV. Season 8❤️#GameofThones #GameofThronesSeason8 pic.twitter.com/D9NAVL6MMx
— Raj Patel (@AreAyJay) April 14, 2019
No spoilers from us, but when asked how the episode was, one fan who saw it reported "solid." That fan went on to say, "Good episode. Sets up rest of season well."
For the rest of us, Game of Thrones will premiere at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET on HBO.
Originally published 5:02 p.m. PT.
Update, 6:45 p.m. PT: Adds DirecTV statement.