The Game of Thrones season 6 premiere should come out right on schedule, next April or so. HBO’s been rolling these things out like clockwork, and there’s no reason for that to change. Especially for a hugely successful show like Game of Thrones, being on time and on schedule is of the essence. So you can expect Thrones season 6 to premiere in April 2016, give or take a week. But guess what? That information isn’t relevant, because you just won’t care that much.

Game Of Thrones Season 6 Premiere Date: Not What It Used To Be

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Game Of Thrones Season 5 Spoilers: How Book Readers Can Accept The Changes And Like The Show Again

The first four season premieres of Game of Thrones were progressively more exciting than the last. The show just kept building in tension, complexity and depth, and its ambitions knew few bounds. But season 4—and book 4—is when the narrative starts to change, and become less focused. That shows in the series and in the books: Feast for Crows and late season 4 (which wraps up Storm of Swords and moves into Feast and Dance) have great moments, but after Robb and Joffrey are dead, a lot of the narrative momentum is lost.

Season 5, which took Tyrion far away from King’s Landing, has been the most unfocused and rambling season of Game of Thrones. And, of course, it’s changed the most stuff from the books, which you may or may not care about. Some of us care a lot. But even besides for that, season 5 has not been as compelling as previous seasons. Daenerys has probably had the best arc, if you don’t care about book changes, and that’s so remote from everything else that it’s tough to care. Dorne has been one big whiff, Stannis is losing our love, and Jon is off fighting zombies.

There’s just not much to cling to in Game of Thrones season 5. And season 6 may be able to rein that in—finally, us book readers won’t be able to tell you that—but only at a cost. So far, the show’s changes and innovations have mostly been less compelling than book storylines. They feel made-for-TV, because they are. And that suggests that Game of Thrones season 6 will feel more like plain ol’ television than ever. Sure, it’ll be shiny and expensive and filled with characters we like a lot, but it won’t be the same.

Game of Thrones season 6 premieres in April 2016, probably.