House of the Dragon Season 2 Will Have Fewer Episodes Than Season 1
Rhaenyra’s dragons will get less flying time in House of the Dragon‘s Season 2.
The fantasy drama’s sophomore run will consist of eight episodes, TVLine has confirmed, which is two fewer than Season 1’s episode count. We’re hearing that the change was made to service the story. Our sister site Deadline first reported the new episode count.
Season 2 of the Game of Thrones prequel is not likely to air until 2024, according to HBO and HBO Max chief content officer Casey Bloys. “We’re just starting to put the plan together, and just like last time, there are so many unknowns,” Bloys said soon after the Season 1 finale aired in October 2022. “It’s not to be coy or secretive, but you don’t want to say it’s going to be ready on this date, and then you have to move it.”
He added: “Don’t expect it in 2023.”
House of the Dragon‘s first season ended with an episode that found Rhaenyra giving birth to a stillborn daughter, getting crowned queen and learning that her middle son, Lucerys, had been killed by Aemond Targaryen and his dragon. (Read a full recap, hear Emma D’Arcy’s take on the Black Queen’s immense losses, and then read Steve Toussaint’s thoughts on Corlys’ big return.)
Afterward, showrunner Ryan Condal said that the show would no longer skip around in the history of Westeros or recast main characters. “I will say, as a reward to our wonderful audience for following us through all the time jumps and recasts, they are done,” the executive producer said. “We tell the story in real time from here forward.”
What do you think of a slightly shorter House of the Dragon Season 2? Sound off in the comments!
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They need to keep it as long as possible. I have read that they are looking to renew it for a third season as well.
Oh no. Shortened seasons are one (of many) of the reasons why seasons 7 and 8 of GoT were so terrible. The ten-episode season was perfectly paced for seasons 1-6 and I was glad to see a return to it in season 1 of HotD. Hopefully they’ll take their time and plan for at least four seasons to do the story justice, especially with a shortened episode count.
I’m sure they will take their time. “Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power” had an eight episode season & they took their time in fleshing out the characters & establishing the world of Middle Earth, which was smart. I’m sure that season 2 will be awesome.
Boooo that sucks.
The show was terrible and cutting back on the cost is proof to that
The first season was great. And S2 getting less episodes have to do with David Zaslav wanting to do cost cutting and also the story. And the show might get renewed for S3 this year.
I hope it gets a third season.
I found the 1st season annoying with all the time jumps and there were way too many births for me to get interested in the show. I am not sure who the other Kevin M is but I could care less if even season 2 came out. Just my opion. I hope you enjoy the next 2 seasons
Other websites are already taling the end of the show and it is earlier than what most people thought.. I guess I am not the only one who didn’t care for the show.
The plan has always been between three and four. Condal and GRRM are still deliberating on that. The source material was never intended to support eight seasons or whatever.
I cannot complain, I’ll take as many episodes that you will give me. A lot of shows only have 8 episodes anyway, so I can live with that. I love this freaking show though and give me my 2 episodes back lol.
To service the story or to appease Zaslav?
Game of Thrones/HBO started this terrible trend of 5-8 episodes out of laziness and we see a growing number of TV shows doing the same thing. I hate it.
So be it. I’d rather have 8 concise well-paced episodes than 10 to stretch out the season with filler.
8 episodes usually has the opposite effect on pacing – it squeezes the story into too few episodes and rushes the plot. Characters are underdeveloped and start making nonsensical decisions just to get the show from point A to point B.
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In a show like HotD, with a large cast and setting, 10 episodes is already slim enough that there’s rarely any filler.
I get your point, and normally I’d agree. But I know what happens next in the book, and given where the season will likely start and end, 8 episodes is probably right in this particular situation.
Dracarys 🔥
I still don’t know how I feel about the second half of season 1, I don’t feel like young Rhaenyra, matches the portrayal of adult one.
A lot of streaming shows dropped from 10 to 8, so not surprising. It’s basically the new norm.
I know that TV productions are getting more expensive and VFX-heavy, but I really hate this trend of taking 2-3 years to produce 6-8 episodes. Better production value doesn’t always equal better quality, as we’ve seen in several cases already.
10 episodes once a year is the sweet spot. It gives the story room to breathe and the gap between seasons is long enough to make you miss it but short enough that you don’t lose interest.
100%
I don’t understand this streaming model and never will. Networks used to do 20+ episodes and return yearly. Streamers produce far fewer episodes but take years in between seasons (and it’s not like the casts are full of movie stars with busy schedules). Just lock people in for 2 season stints and start renewing before the current season wraps. Or film back to back. Oh and when shows come back, they’re “split{ but allegedly it’s one season. It’s pretty silly. That’s why streaming is cooling off. Why pay for 18-24 months before a show you’re interested in returns and/or your show may be unceremoniously cancelled anyway?
Smells like Zaslav got his stinky fingers on this. The Last of Us was good, but it felt rushed and should’ve had at least a couple more episodes.
Running HBO into the ground: A Speedrun by Zaslav