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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 two finale.
He also shared an update about the drama’s third season, revealing that it’s currently being written and will go into production in “earlyish 2025.”
When asked whether season three will have eight episodes as season two did, Condal said: “I haven’t had discussions with HBO about it. I would just anticipate the cadence of the show, from a dramatic storytelling perspective, will continue to be the same from season two on.”
The HBO show is based on Fire & Blood, the first prequel book in author George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series. It is set nearly 200 years before the events detailed in Game of Thrones and follows the story of the Targaryen civil war with King Viserys I Targaryen’s five children battling for control of the Iron Throne.
Martin, who also serves as a co-creator on the show, previously said he anticipated House of the Dragon would have at least four seasons.
“It is going to take four full seasons of 10 episodes each to do justice to the Dance of the Dragons, from start to finish,” he wrote on his personal blog in 2022.
In a January update, the bestselling author said that he had been discussing the “third and fourth seasons” with Condal and the other writers.
The House of the Dragon was officially renewed for a third season ahead of its season two debut in June.
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“George, Ryan, and the rest of our incredible executive producers, cast, and crew, have reached new heights with the phenomenal second season of House of the Dragon,” said HBO programming Executive Vice President Francesca Orsi in a statement at the time.
“We are in awe of the dragon-sized effort the entire team has put into the creation of a spectacular season two, with a scope and scale that is only rivaled by its heart. We could not be more thrilled to continue the story of House Targaryen and watch this team burn bright again for season three.”
The season two finale, which was released on Sunday (August 4), has left critics and viewers disappointed.
“Eight episodes in, we’re still waiting for fiery action,” The Indendent’s Nick Hilton wrote in his two-star review of the finale. The show “is still afflicted by a glacial narrative pace. Even its characters seem gripped by ennui,” he added.
House of the Dragon is available to stream on Max in the US and on Now and Sky Atlantic in the UK.
