Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss lift the veil of secrecy surrounding their show for "the leader of the free world."

The future of Game of Thrones is unknown to everybody but those working on the show — and one other major exception: the president of the United States.

During an interview at the Hollywood screening of the Game of Thrones season six premiere, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss confirmed that President Barack Obama — a vocal fan of the series, albeit one who has trouble remembering the names of his favorite characters — has requested and will receive screeners for the upcoming season of the show.

"He's the leader of the free world," Weiss reasoned, with Benioff adding, "When the commander in chief says, 'I want to see advanced episodes,' what are you going to do?"

President Obama now becomes one of the few people on the planet with access to the fates of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) and Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) — the POTUS' favorite character, he once told GQ — before just about anyone else. Earlier this year, HBO announced it would not be sending out advance screeners to members of the media, breaking precedent from seasons past.

The decision to withhold screeners from the press came after last year's leak of the first four episodes of season five, as well as the show's current foray into uncharted waters; for the first time since the series began, Game of Thrones is officially further along in the story than George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels on which the drama is based. (If the president receives an advance copy of Martin's next book, The Winds of Winter, then readers will have cause for extreme jealousy.)

Game of Thrones is set to return to HBO on April 24. Keep up to date with all of THR's coverage here.