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The highly-anticipated prequel to Game of Thrones, titled House of the Dragon, premiered last week with a bang. It has officially been renewed for season 2. The series premiered last week and was already in talks for another installment way before the news came out.
The show's renewal also indicates HBO's investment in the future of the Game of Thrones franchise. Miguel Sapochnik, a co-showrunner on the series, previously confirmed to EW that if House of the Dragon continues on for many more seasons, the show could tackle other notable Targaryen stories, from Aegon the Conqueror to the Mad King.
As per Francesca Orsi, Executive VP, HBO programming:
"We are beyond proud of what the entire House of the Dragon team has accomplished with season one. Our phenomenal cast and crew undertook a massive challenge and exceeded all expectations, delivering a show that has already established itself as must-see-TV."
She further went on to thank world-builder George R.R. Martin and the showrunners:
"A huge thank you [to co-creator and executive producer George R.R. Martin and co-creator and showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik] for leading us on this journey. We couldn’t be more excited to continue bringing to life the epic saga of House Targaryen with season two."
While this news has given hope to fans, the release date of the same is uncertain. HBO has also not announced how many episodes will be in the second season, but another 10 is a possibility.
Since the current season took some time to film and produce, it will be difficult for the production to film and create VFX afor nother season by the end of 2023. As a result, a 2024 return for the next season is more likely.
House of the Dragon premiere receives one of the highest viewership counts
HBO's The House of the Dragon premiered on Sunday, August 21, and as expected, it delivered over 10 million views overnight. It became a record for a serious opener, roughly at par with the premiere of Game of Thrones Season 6, which was the biggest series premiere in HBO's history.
As per HBO, since the show’s premiere, the first episode’s viewership has climbed to 20 million viewers in the U.S. across linear, on-demand, and HBO Max platforms. The first season of the series was filmed over 10 months and required a massive amount of post-production visual effects work, which began in January and is still going on.
More about House of the Dragon
Created by George R. R. Martin and Ryan Condal, the series is based on the A Song of Ice and Fire novels by Martin. It portrays the beginning of the end of House Targaryen, and the great war of succession, known as the "Dance of the Dragons."
The series stars Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy/ Milly Alcock as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen.
The series premiered last week and broke records for its viewership. It is executively produced by Miguel Sapochnik, Ryan Condal, George R. R. Martin, Ron Schmidt, Jocelyn Diaz, Sara Hess and Vince Gerardis.
House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and approximately 172 years before Daenerys Targaryen. The Targaryen dynasty is at the apex of its power in Westeros, and with a menagerie of dragons at their disposal, no one dares challenge their reign. This means that the biggest threat to House Targaryen is no one but itself.
The revolves around the events leading up to and covering the Targaryen war of succession. Also known as the "Dance of the Dragons," it took place after King Viserys I Targaryen conceived a son, Aegon II. This was done even though he had previously named his daughter, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, as his sole heir to the Iron Throne over his brother, Prince Daemon.
Catch the first episode of House of the Dragon on HBO Max with brand new episodes releasing every Sunday on HBO, its streaming service, and Hotstar.
