The "House of Dragons" Season 2 release date was one of the most eagerly awaited announcements of the year Now the wait is finally over, as we finally know when HBO's acclaimed television show will return to HBO and Max this summer

In an announcement today, HBO and Max, the streaming service of Warner Bros Discovery, revealed that they will be expanding access to Max across Europe The company also revealed that "House of the Dragon" Season 2 will premiere on Max on June 17

In other words, "House of the Dragon" Season 2 will premiere on June 16, with HBO releasing the show on Sundays on HBO and Max, with June 17 being a Monday However, given the time difference, the Monday, June 17 release in Europe will coincide with the Sunday, June 16 release at 9 pm ET

Update: HBO has released not one but two new trailers for season two of "House of the Dragon" See our reaction to the new trailers

To be fair, this is not a complete shocker We've known since earlier this month that the "Game of Thrones" sequel will air on HBO and Max this June Warner Bros Discovery Streaming & Gaming chief JB Perrett revealed at Morgan Stanley's Technology, Media & Telecom conference on March 4 that the show will return in June 2024 But we didn't expect to know the release date until we got our hands on the show's next trailer

Once that trailer is released, we will tell you more about the announcement, including our reaction to the trailer, which we fully expect to be spectacular The Dance of Dragons - the brutal civil war in Westeros that sparked the downfall of the powerful Targaryen dynasty and the power of dragons on the fictional continent - is expected to be in full swing this season, following the dramatic conclusion of season one We can't wait to see what's next