When "House of the Dragon" season 2 comes around on HBO on Sunday, June 19, you'll definitely be seeing more new characters, more fire-breathing dragons and more fantastical world-building from the "Game of Thrones" prequel series. What you won't be seeing is more episodes — the drama's second season will only have eight episodes, two fewer than the standard 10-ep order of its previous installment.
It's a seemingly surprising move for the network, especially given that "HOTD" is an expansion of one of HBO's most iconic and successful properties. (For comparison, "Game of Thrones" boasted 10 episodes a year for seasons 1 through 6, followed by a 13-episode final chapter that was split into the show's last two seasons.) Deadline reported back in March 2023 that the reduced episode order was "part of a long-term plan for the show" and that the reasoning behind "the episode count trim was story-driven," per an HBO spokesperson.
