Game of Thrones Season Four Premiere Date Set

HBO announced much of its 2014 programming slate today at the Television Critics' Association presentation, including an April 6 premiere date for its massive hit Game of Thrones, based on the novels by George R. R. Martin. The ten-episode season will be based roughly on the second half of A Storm of Swords, the third of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels. The first official trailer for Game of Thrones's fourth season will air this Sunday on HBO, before the series premiere of True Detective. The premiere will be followed by the third-season opener of Julia Louis-Dreyfuss's Veep at 10 p.m. and then the series premiere of Office Space and King of the Hill creator Mike Judge's new comedy series Silicon Valley at 10:30. The following Sunday, the three series will be joined by the second season of Vice at 11 p.m. Vice's second season will, unlike its first, not feature former NBA star Dennis Rodman, currently stirring up controversy by cozying up to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. HBO Films's The Normal Heart, an adaptation of Larry Kramer's play directed by Glee and American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy and starring The Avengers's Mark Ruffalo, Julia Roberts, Superman: Unbound's Matt Bomer and The Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons, will premiere in May.