Roku will stream the first season of 'Game of Thrones' for free

'Billions' and 'Ray Donovan' seasons will also be gratis during Roku's Stream-a-thon.

If you and your nearest and dearest have been meaning to check out Game of Thrones but haven't gotten around to it yet (or don't have an HBO subscription), you can stream the first season for free on Roku over the holiday season. The monstrously popular series' first 10 episodes will be available at no cost during Roku's second annual Stream-a-thon, which runs December 26th to January 1st.

Over that week, The Roku Channel will also stream the first seasons of Billions, Ray Donovan, The Affair, Warrior and Power for free. Some episodes of Succession, Barry, Euphoria, Chernobyl, Sesame Street, Kidding, Get Shorty, Pennyworth, Punk, Sonic Christmas Blast, Gumby's Christmas Capers, MXC and Super Mario Bros. Super Show will also be on offer.

Additionally, Stream-a-thon will have free Hallmark Movies films, along with shows, flicks and documentaries from Smithsonian Channel Plus, Up Faith & Family, The Great Courses Signature, Dove Channel and Pantaya. Some FitFusion workouts will be available at no cost during the event, as will some holiday classics on Stingray Karaoke.

While Stream-a-thon might give you and your family plenty to watch over the holidays and encourage you to check out free stuff on The Roku Channel, Roku is trying to give you a taste of what's on offer via subscriptions to the likes of HBO, Cinemax, Showtime and Starz. To that end, it's offering a new value pack containing HBO and Cinemax for $21/month (they cost $15 and $10 individually), perhaps in case you get hooked on Game of Thrones after that certain thing happens at the end of the first season.