Game of Thrones' sixth season is premiering next April. (Spoilers ahead, if that's a concern for you.) HBO shared the new season's first promotional image on Twitter this morning, and it features the bloody visage of a character that currently seems to be hovering somewhere between alive and dead: Jon Snow, former Stark bastard and Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. When we last saw Snow, he was being lured into a trap by disillusioned members of his brigade and stabbed to death in a display of brutal mutiny. Of course, there's been a ton of speculation about his true status since season five's finale aired last June; death doesn't have to mean much within a series that's featured several resurrections.

Even though it's entering advanced age by TV drama standards, Game of Thrones just keeps getting more and more popular. Last season's finale drew the show's largest audience ever despite airing against the NBA Finals, and the density of George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy doesn't seem to be scaring off new viewers. If you've somehow managed to escape the series' pull until now, HBO's putting you on notice: you have about five months to catch up. There's still plenty of Game of Thrones to come, too: no less an authority than HBO's head of programming has promised there'll be at least eight seasons spent with Westeros' rich and famous.