A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin is, one hopes, hard at work on the sixth novel in his series, The Winds of Winter. But he occasionally pops his head out to write a blog entry on his website, and today gave a hearty thank you to the cast and crew of House of the Dragon for making a show so many people want to watch, and to the fans for watching it.
House of the Dragon is based on Martin’s book Fire & Blood, and so far, it’s proving just as popular as the last HBO show based on his work. “The show opened strong and has only been getting stronger,” Martin said, accurately. “Thanks to all of you who are watching, and helping to spread the word. And thanks to our amazing cast and crew as well.”
"Milly Alcock and Emily Carey were incredible as young Rhaenyra and young Alicent, were they not? With Sunday’s episode, Emma d’Arcy and Olivia Cooke took over as the adult versions of the characters. I think you will love them too. Or hate them, maybe. Love/ hate. Westeros, like the real world, is full of complex characters, capable of both good and evil. Meanwhile, Matt Smith and Paddy Considine and Rhys Ifans and Fabien Frankel and Steve Toussaint and the rest of our cast continue to excel. I would be hard pressed to say which of them I love best."
Being a writer himself, Martin also gave a tip of the hat to the scribes behind the series, “who never get the attention that the stars do. Sara Hess, Charmaine De Grate, Ira Parker, Ti Mikkel, and rest of our scriveners have done my story right, I think. And last but not least, our showrunners, Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik… HOT D would not exist without them. (Oh, and let me give a tip of the hat to Jocelyn Diaz, another one of our EPs, who helped immeasurably).”
Incidentally, both Sapochnik and Diaz are leaving the show ahead of season 2.
George R.R. Martin is looking forward to House of the Dragon season 2
“I hope you guys are enjoying HOT D as much as I am,” Martin continued. “And hey, four more episodes to go… the best is yet to come. And then on to season two!”
Having watched Episode 7, I can indeed confirm that there’s some crazy stuff on the way. Season 2, meanwhile, is due to shoot next year.
All that is great, although my biggest takeaway from Martin’s blog post is that he’s still calling the show “Hot D.” He’s been doing that for a while, and I still don’t know if it’s on purpose or not. Does he know what “Hot D” means in the American vernacular? If not, has anybody told him? Maybe they think it’s funny to keep him in the dark and let him continue to do it? Or maybe he knows and thinks it’s hilarious? We may never know, but if I ever interview George R.R. Martin it’s the first question I’m asking.
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