It’s official, the Game of Thrones saga will continue as the prequel spinoff series House of the Dragon has now been renewed for a second season. Less than a week after debuting its first episode on HBO and its streaming platform HBO Max. The news comes courtesy of the official Twitter account for House of the Dragon, which has proudly declared that “Fire reigns.”
“We are beyond proud of what the entire House of the Dragon team has accomplished with season one,” Francesca Orsi, executive vp, HBO programming said of the renewal. “Our phenomenal cast and crew undertook a massive challenge and exceeded all expectations, delivering a show that has already established itself as must-see-TV. A huge thank you to [co-creator and executive producer George R.R. Martin and co-creator and showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik] for leading us on this journey. We couldn’t be more excited to continue bringing to life the epic saga of House Targaryen with season two.”
HBO had reportedly been eager to renew House of the Dragon for a second season should the premiere make a strong impression. Released just a few days ago on August 21, House of the Dragon’s debut has been met with a positive response from critics, with the series currently sitting at an impressive 83% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Of course, critical praise would mean little to HBO if it didn’t come with high viewership figures. Thankfully, HBO has since claimed that the premiere episode of House of the Dragon has been viewed by an estimated 9.99 million viewers in the United States on its first night of availability. Which includes both linear viewers and streams on HBO Max. According to HBO, House of the Dragon now has the largest single-day viewership for a series debut in the service’s history.
It certainly sounds like the quick renewal is well-deserved.
House of the Dragon is Set 200 Years Before the Events of Game of Thrones
HBO
The reign of House Targaryen begins in HBO’s House of the Dragon. A prequel series to the hugely popular (and then hugely unpopular) Game of Thrones, and based on George R.R. Martin’s “Fire & Blood,” House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, and tells the story of House Targaryen.
Much like its predecessor, House of the Dragon has amassed a stellar ensemble cast, which includes Paddy Considine (HBO’s The Third Day and The Outsider) as King Viserys I Targaryen; Matt Smith (Doctor Who) as Prince Daemon Targaryen; Emma D’Arcy (Truth Seekers) as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen; Rhys Ifans (Spider-Man: No Way Home) as Ser Otto Hightower; Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One) as Alicent Hightower; and Steve Toussaint (Doctor Who, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time) as Lord Corlys Velaryon.
The rest of the cast includes, Eve Best, Sonoya Mizuno, Fabien Frankel, Milly Alcock, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Emily Carey, Harry Collett, Ryan Corr, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jefferson Hall, and David Horovitch, among others.
The first season of House of the Dragon will consist of ten episodes, with the now announced second season expected to follow suit.
