“House of the Dragon” Renewed for Season 3 Ahead of Season 2 Premiere
House of the Dragons season 2 hasn’t premiered yet—that happens on June 16—but that didn’t stop HBO from topping up the successful Game of Thrones spinoff for another season. Showrunner Ryan Condal and his co-creator, author George R. R. Martin, have no doubt been plotting and planning for a third (and fourth, and fifth?) season already.
The drama centered on the scheming Tagaryen family has been renewed for season 3, proving that HBO’s first GoT spinoff to make it through the creative gantlet and onto air is a major hit. It took the entirety of season 1—which earned nine Emmy nominations, including for Outstanding Drama, and two Golden Globes, winning for Best Drama—before the series was renewed for a second run, so this fresh renewal days before the season 2 premiere is telling.
When House of the Dragon premiered, it drew the largest premiere audience in HBO and HBO Max history. Season 1 pulled in an average of 29 million viewers per episode, linearly and on streaming. The series is based on Martin’s book “Fire & Blood” and has masterfully followed the drama within House Targaryen as family members turn on one another in a battle for power and, of course, the Iron Throne. The series is set 200 years before the events in Game of Thrones, in an era where the Targaryens have ruled the Seven Kingdoms for a century.
“George, Ryan, and the rest of our incredible executive producers, cast, and crew have reached new heights with the phenomenal second season,” said HBO’s programming and drama series chief Francesca Orsi in a statement. “We are in awe of the dragon-sized effort the entire team has put into the creation of a spectacular season two, with a scope and scale that is only rivaled by its heart. We could not be more thrilled to continue the story of House Targaryen and watch this team burn bright again for season three.”
House of the Dragon alums returning for Season 2 include Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith, Eve Best, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, Rhys Ifans, Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Phia Saban, Jefferson Hall, and Matthew Needham.
Newcomers include Gayle Rankin as Alys Rivers, Freddie Fox as Ser Gwayne Hightower, Abubakar Salim as Alyn of Hull, Simon Russell Beale as Ser Simon Strong, Clinton Liberty as Addam of Hull, Jamie Kenna as Ser Alfred Broome, Kieran Bew as Hugh, Tom Bennett as Ulf, Tom Taylor as Lord Cregan Stark and Vincent Regan as Ser Rickard Thorne.
While House of the Dragon soars, HBO has another Game of Thrones spinoff in the works: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, based on Martin’s books “Tales of Dunk and Egg,” which are centered on Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire, Egg. Martin also announced that a pilot script for the spinoff series Ten Thousand Ships is being penned by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Eboni Booth.
For more on House of the Dragon, check out these stories:
“House of the Dragon” Season 2 Timeline Revealed
“House of the Dragon” Season 2 Unleashes Two Trailers, Plenty of Dragons, and War
“House of the Dragon” Season 2 Trailer Coming Tomorrow
Featured image: Photograph by Courtesy of HBO
