‘House of the Dragon’ Renewed For Season 2
Not that there was much doubt it would go any other way, but HBO has confirmed ‘House of the Dragon‘ has been officially renewed for Season 2.
Based on George R.R. Martin’s “Fire & Blood,” the series, set 200 years before the events of ‘Game of Thrones’, tells the story of House Targaryen.
The series, which is available in the UK exclusively on Sky and NOW, has received strong critical acclaim and multiple 5* reviews, being dubbed “Bigger, bolder and bloodier than Game of Thrones” (The Independent) and “visually sumptuous” (The Times). Entertainment Weekly called it “flat-out stunning”, whilst IGN declared “It’s good to be back in backstabbing Westeros.” Los Angeles Times hailed it “a new, engrossing chapter in HBO’s epic,” and Wall Street Journal noted it’s “as captivating as any season of ‘Game of Thrones.’”
The ratings themselves have also been through the roof on both sides of the Atlantic. The opening episode has over 20 million viewers across linear, On Demand and HBO Max in the USA so far. In the UK it gave Sky Atlantic its biggest audience ever, beating the original ‘Game Of Thrones’, with almost 1 million either staying up for the 2am simulcast or downloading it, and another 394,000 watching the 9pm repeat. That number is also expected to significantly rise once the full 10-day consolidated figures land.
“House of the Dragon is already proving to be a ratings hit, and we predict it will go from strength to strength due to the captivating storytelling and incredible production values,” said Zai Bennett, MD of Content at Sky. “We look forward to sharing a second series with our customers on Sky and NOW.”
“We are beyond proud of what the entire House of the Dragon team has accomplished with season one,” adds Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming. “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. A huge thank you to George, Ryan, and Miguel 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.”
The extensive cast for season one includes Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans. Additional cast includes Milly Alcock, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Emily Carey, Harry Collett, Ryan Corr, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jefferson Hall, David Horovitch, Wil Johnson, John Macmillan, Graham McTavish, Ewan Mitchell, Theo Nate, Matthew Needham, Bill Paterson, Phia Saban, Gavin Spokes, Savannah Steyn.
The series is co-created by George R.R. Martin and Ryan Condal (‘Colony’, ‘Hercules’), with Miguel Sapochnik and Condal as co-showrunners. Sapochnik’s directing credits include six ‘Game of Thrones’ episodes, including Emmy and DGA honours for “Battle of the Bastards.” He was nominated for another Emmy in 2019 for directing “The Long Night” and won the Emmy for Best Drama Series as an executive producer for the final season. Sara Hess serves as Executive Producer/Writer, with Jocelyn Diaz, Vince Gerardis, Ron Schmidt as Executive Producers. Clare Kilner and Geeta V. Patel are Directors, with Greg Yaitanes as Director/Co-Executive Producer.
‘House Of The Dragon‘ premieres Monday nights at 2am on Sky Atlantic & NOW in the UK, and Sundays on HBO/HBO Max in the USA.
