Sorry, House of the Dragon fans, but Season 2 of the Game of Thrones spin-off is going to be a little bit shorter.
According to Deadline, the second season of House of the Dragon is going to be just eight episodes long – that’s two shorter than Season 1.
Why is it shorter? Well, it looks as though a ten-episode Season 2 story arc was originally on the cards, but this plan eventually changed, leading to rewrites. An HBO spokesperson confirmed that Season 2 will be only 8 episodes, emphasizing that the change is largely story-driven.
Although Season 2 is yet to air, HBO is apparently considering greenlighting a third season though, with the show originally planned to run for four seasons in total.
Deadline said House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal, along with original author George R. R. Martin, took a step back while Season 2 was being put together in order to take a “big picture” approach to the rest of the show, instead working on overall narrative flow as well as when to feature key battles and events.
As part of this, Season 3 has already reportedly been mapped out, and is now considering moving forward with it already, taking a long-term approach rather than moving from season to season. Of course, it makes sense – House of the Dragon has a built-in audience thanks to Game of Thrones fans, and it’s a much lower risk than some other shows on its network.
Whether or not Season 3 will feature more episodes remains to be seen, but it looks as though we can expect a slightly leaner format this time around, at least.
IGN’s review of House of the Dragon Season 1 gave it 9/10 and said: “Early on it sometimes felt too faithful to its predecessor, but after ten episodes House Of The Dragon has forged its own identity and established itself as a worthy prequel to Game Of Thrones. That’s largely thanks to strong writing, a wildly overqualified cast, and a veritable flock of dragons. More of the same next time, but a little more confidence too. They’ve earned it.”
House of the Dragon Season 2 is expected to debut in the summer of 2024, but if you want to read more about it now, check out how Season 2 will pick up the pace as well as the show’s much stranger, alternative plot.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
