Game of Thrones wasn’t just the biggest series on HBO, it was the biggest series on HBO for years at a time. The high fantasy drama lasted for eight seasons, which is a a long time for a live-action show, to say nothing for one as expensive and ambitious.
The follow-up show, House of the Dragon, isn’t quite as expansive, although it’s still plenty epic. It’s about a civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons, where the then-powerful Targaryen family tore itself apart. Insiders have said that HBO has a three-four season plan for the series, which sounds about right to me.
That said, there are other eras of Targaryen history HBO could explore. House of the Dragon is based on George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, which covers a wide swath of Targaryen history; the Dance of the Dragons is only one part.
The House of the Dragon series premiere isn’t just setup
Entertainment Weekly recently asked House of the Dragon co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik about the idea of adapting the further adventures of the Targaryens to the small screen in the future. “Absolutely. I think that’s one of the interesting things about the Targaryens,” he said. “We’ve chosen a story that’s almost like Star Wars: Episode IV. It’s the New Nope. We can go backwards, we can go forwards. There’s a lot of opportunities there. I hope we’ve been given the opportunity to set up something.”
If the producers wanted to, they could explore Aegon’s conquest of Westeros or the reign of his son Maegor the Cruel, both of which happened before House of the Dragon. Looking into the future, they could cover the fall of Aerys “the Mad King” Targaryen, which happened shortly before the events of Game of Thrones. That said, we don’t know if he’s just talking speculatively or if there’s a plan for another show or even a continuation of House of the Dragon once they’re done with the Dance.
We can safely set the possibility aside for another day, because the House of the Dragon series premiere airs on HBO and HBO Max on August 21. “Generally speaking, pilots tend to be a lot to setup, and I was really, really keen on the idea of doing a pilot that was actually a story and moved you forward and got you engaged,” Sapochnik said. “We worked really hard on trying to make it exciting and not just one of exposition.” Based on the reviews, it sounds like he succeeded:
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