The presently in-the-works second season of HBO’s “House Of the Dragon” is confirmed to be consisting of eight episodes – two fewer than the ten-episode run of the show’s first season.
Deadline broke the news, saying the decision is part of a long-term plan for the show and HBO is already considering a green light for a third season of the series even though the second season hasn’t begun filming yet.
The trade indicates the initial plan was for another ten-episode arc, but that changed and resulted in script rewrites. Despite Warner Bros. Discovery’s recent reputation for brutal cost-cutting, an HBO spokesperson tells the trade that the smaller episode count was a story-driven decision.
Previously the show’s creative team said they envisioned the series as running for a total of three or four seasons. More recently executive producer/showrunner Ryan Condal and author/executive producer George R.R. Martin are said to have taken a “big-picture view” of the series, planning out the entire show’s overall narrative and where seasonal breaks should be applied.
As a result, the third season has been mapped out and might be greenlit with HBO seriously considering committing to moving ahead with scripts, casting and a production plan to ensure the series will move at a faster and more regular pace (thus likely reducing the wait between seasons).
The outlet’s sources indicate a portion of the plot originally intended for Season 2, including a major battle, is moving to Season 3, and as a result, a fourth season is more likely. But Condal and Martin are allegedly still undecided about whether they will go three or four seasons to tell the whole story.
Previously Martin said it would take “four full seasons of 10 episodes each” to do justice to the story, so he’s potentially the one pushing for a longer run. Shooting for the second season will begin shortly in the UK ahead of a likely Summer 2024 debut.
The series boasted a $200 million production budget and the biggest marketing campaign in HBO’s history. The result was a smash hit that pulled in an average of 29 million viewers per episode – HBO’s best numbers in years until “The Last of Us” earlier this year just slightly eclipsed them.
