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House of the Dragon co-creator and showrunner Ryan Condal has confirmed that the show will end after four seasons.
Condal made the announcement on Monday (August 5) during a press conference following the release of the show’s season 2 finale.
He also shared an update on the show’s third season, revealing that it is currently being written and is scheduled to go into production “early 2025.”
When asked if season three would be eight episodes long like season two, Condal replied, “We haven’t had any discussions with HBO yet. From a dramatic storyline standpoint, we expect the pacing of the show will remain the same beyond season two.”
The HBO drama is based on “Fire and Blood,” the first prequel to George R.R. Martin’s fantasy series “A Song of Ice and Fire.” Set about 200 years before the events detailed in Game of Thrones, the story follows the Targaryen civil war, in which the five children of King Viserys I Targaryen fight for control of the Iron Throne.
Martin, who also co-creates the show, previously said he expects House of the Dragon to last at least four seasons.
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“It would take four seasons of 10 episodes each to do Dance of the Dragons justice from start to finish,” he wrote on his personal blog in 2022.
In an update in January, the best-selling author said he’d been in discussions with Condal and other authors about a “third and fourth season.”
“House of the Dragon” has officially been renewed for a third season ahead of the second season’s premiere in June.
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“George, Ryan and the rest of our incredible executive producers, cast and crew have reached new heights with House of the Dragon’s incredible second season,” Francesca Orsi, HBO executive vice president of programming, said in a statement at the time.
“We’re in awe of the dragon-sized effort the entire team put into creating a Season 2 that’s as epic in scope and scale as it is in spirit, and we couldn’t be more excited to see this team shine again in Season 3 as we continue the saga of House Targaryen.”
The season 2 finale, which was released on Sunday (August 4), disappointed critics and viewers.
“Eight episodes in, we’re still waiting for the action to hit,” wrote The Indent’s Nick Hilton in his two-star review of the finale. “The show is still moving slowly, and the characters seem gripped by a sense of ennui.”
House of the Dragon is available to stream on Max in the US, and on Now and Sky Atlantic in the UK.
