House of the Drago will return for a shorter second season on HBO. The US network is planning to renew it for season 3.
The upcoming second season of fantasy drama House of the Dragon will consist of eight episodes, two less than season one. According to report by Hollywood trade website Deadline, the decision is part of a long-term plan for the series, which includes network HBO considering renewing the prequel spin-off of Game of Thrones for a third season as well.
HBO green-lit season two soon after House of the Dragon premiered on August 21, 2022, as it drew the largest audience for any new original series in history of the premium broadcaster with “over 20 million viewers across linear, on demand and HBO Max platforms in the US, based on a combination of Nielsen data and first party data”.
House of the Dragon is a prequel based on George RR Martin’s book Fire & Blood, which gives the history of House Targaryen set 200 years before the events described in Game of Thrones, which ended its eight-season run in 2019.
In what is a relatively common practice, HBO did not reveal the episode order in the season two renewal announcement last summer. The second chapter was supposed to have another 10-episode run, which eventually changed, leading to some script rewrites.
A potential season three is being prepared and might go ahead, with HBO considering committing to moving ahead with scripts, casting and a production plan.
According to insiders, a portion of the plot originally intended for season two, including a major battle, is now moving to season three. Sources also added that House of the Dragon is now more likely to run for four seasons, but that has not yet been determined.
House of the Dragon features an ensemble cast of Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans.
Game of Thrones veteran Miguel Sapochnik was the showrunner on season one of House of the Dragons along with co-creator Ryan Condal. For the second season, Condal will now serve as solo showrunner with Sapochnik continuing as an executive producer on the series.
Another Game of Thrones veteran, Alan Taylor, will also join as a director and executive producer on the second season of the show.
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