This week saw HBO confirm that House of the Dragon would run through Season 4, even though Season 3 has yet to debut, but whether the series will end there is yet to be revealed. In an age where big-budget TV shows get their endings announced ahead of time as opposed to being axed between seasons, Chairman and CEO, HBO and Max Content, Casey Bloys made it clear this week that even he doesn’t know if Season 4 will be the end, as it’s entirely up to showrunner Ryan Condal. With the showrunner himself teasing the series would end with Season 4, Bloys’ comments don’t confirm or refute those remarks.
Bloys made the reveal at a press event this week, per Deadline, that:
“For all of [our] shows, we generally try to leave it to the creators to make that decision. We’ll work with them. Sometimes, people will work through the season to feel like, ‘Does it feel like a natural end? Does it not?’ So, I don’t have updates for you on any of that. But when we do, I’ll let you know.”
Condal is currently writing the scripts for Season 4 and will reportedly have an answer about the series ending once those scripts are completed.
What Else Can ‘Game of Thrones’ Fans Expect in the Future?
The Game of Thrones prequel wasn’t the only project to get good news this week, as HBO also confirmed that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms had been renewed for a Season 2 before the first season had even been released. Clearly the network is relatively confident in that project, an adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas.
In the late 2010s, at the height of Game of Thrones‘ popularity, it seemed like there was limitless potential for the franchise. Concluding the epic fantasy series, though, was a costly endeavor, and with the final seasons and especially the series finale earning a divisive reaction among fans, a lot of the world’s potential was stifled. Scrapped spin-offs include a series exploring other tales in King’s Landing, a prequel about Princess Nymeria, and multiple animated expansions. A sequel series that would have focused on Kit Harington’s Jon Snow earned its share of starts and stops along the way, though has stagnated as a “stop,” and another prequel idea even filmed a pilot episode, only for HBO not to pick it up.
Given the tumultuous nature of this franchise, excitement seems to be on an upswing, thanks to the announcement of these renewals. The positive response to House of the Dragon from audiences and critics alike has also earned the franchise some goodwill, especially in the wake of the controversial Game of Thrones finale.
Even if there’s a precedent of big-budget TV shows announcing their ending ahead of time, we can’t rule out the series being scrapped between seasons. Westworld, for example, was primed to become HBO’s flagship series as Game of Thrones was coming to an end, only for interest to wane by its fourth season. The series creators had previously shared they had a five-season plan for the program, only for HBO to not only cancel the project, but even remove it from its streaming platform. Hopefully the future is better for House of the Dragon.
House of the Dragon
- Release Date
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August 21, 2022
- Network
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HBO
- Directors
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Clare Kilner, Geeta Patel
- Writers
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Gabe Fonseca
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Fabien Frankel
Ser Criston Cole
