House of the Dragonshowrunner Ryan Condal gave fans much to look forward to after discussing the HBO series’ upcoming second season at an industry event alongside one of the show’s stars. His comments about the next season serve as a draw for fans in an ever-competitive genre.
House of the Dragonis the first spin-off of HBO Max’s popularGame of Thronesshow, based on the book seriesA Song of Ice and Fireby fantasy author George R.R. Martin, withHouse of the Dragonsimilarly adapting his 2018 novelFire and Blood. Set nearly 2 centuries before the original series,House of the Dragontells the story of the slow and tragic collapse of House Targaryen that takes them from the rulers of the Seven Kingdoms to the state seen at the start ofGame of Thrones.The series was a massive success, with theHouse of the Dragonpremiere episode becoming the highest-vieweddebut ever for HBO.
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The premiere was such a massive success thatHouse of the Dragonwas renewed for a second seasonless than a week after the first episode aired, with showrunner Ryan Condal getting to work on the next installment as soon as he was able. Speaking at the Contenders TV event hosted byDeadline, the executive producer revealed that the second season aligns more with fan expectations. “I’m excited to pick up where we left off. Now we get to fall into the more traditional rhythms of storytelling and Game of Thrones,” Condal promised. “We’ve always talked about this particular tale, George [R.R. Martin] has too, of being a Shakespearean or Greek tragedy. This series is very much about a house tearing itself apart from within. Now that all those pieces have been set on the board, I’m really excited to tell the next chapter, to see what happens now that Viserys is gone and no longer keeping a lid on things.”
Viserys bowing out in the first season was one of its strongest moments, with such an emotional weight that Paddy Constantine, the actor behind the character,burst into tears over the character’s fate onHouse of the Dragon. It is also essential for understanding the narrative potential of the second season. Addressing this, Condal admitted that “the trick was really to show this generational conflict that began with Viserys' generation. He and Otto Hightower, his hand, passed down to Rhaenyra and Alicent as they grew up and became adults and had children of their own. This bitter rivalry grasping for power gets passed onto their children. It’s a three-generational story, and we needed to get through that in one season so we could get on to the Dance of the Dragons.”
The Dance of the Dragons is the most pivotal part of the series, and the promise of a moreGame of Thrones-esque approach (and no more time skips) is more than enough fuel for what was already a healthy flame of fan interest. While Condal previously showed optimism about a late 2023 release, and series starEwan Mitchel estimatedHouse of the Dragonseason 2 will take 8 monthsto work on. However, this seems unlikely at this time. The extension will again see the show go toe to toe with Amazon’s Prime Video fantasy seriesThe Rings of Power,whichHouse of the Dragonhas previously competed favorably against.
House of the Dragonseason 1 is available on HBO Max.
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