In the wake of the news that the new season of “Stranger Things” was coming in at a budget of around $30 million per episode, a new report has gone up indicating HBO’s “Game of Thrones” spin-off series “House of the Dragon” is coming in at a considerably cheaper cost.
Variety reports that according to a source close to production, the new series is coming in at under $20 million per episode across its ten-episode first season. In comparison, the original ‘Thrones’ cost roughly $6 million per episode in its first season and rose to $15 million per episode for the show’s eighth and final season.
Thanks to plenty of experience with world-building series (ala “Westworld,” “His Dark Materials”) it’s said the production team could make a high-quality series efficiently enough to keep the budget under relative control.
Set two centuries before the events of ‘Thrones,’ the prequel will depict how the House of Targaryen fell into a bitter and brutal civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons – presaging the beginning of the end of Westeros’ ruling family.
The most expensive show to produce is Amazon’s upcoming “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” series which is expected to cost approximately $465 million to produce its eight-episode first season. That includes startup costs that will likely be spread out over multiple seasons.
“House of the Dragon” launches on HBO on August 21st.
