To say George R.R. Martin's first interview of 2026 was a bombshell would be an understatement. The author was candid and open, and he absolutely did not hold back when discussing his "abysmal" relationship with House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal. The full extent of their disagreements on the Game of Thrones prequel spinoff were not made completely public until that interview, and since it dropped, HBO chief Casey Bloys has confirmed reports that Martin has taken a step back from the spinoff.
Right now, George R.R. Martin is elated with the release of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms — a series from showrunner Ira Parker that perfectly captures the author's vision. All in all, it's a faithful adaptation. Martin is heavily involved in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. However, the same cannot be said of House of the Dragon. In the bombshell interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Martin described his creative relationship with Ryan Condal — which began fruitful — as “worse than rocky," adding: “It’s abysmal.”
House of the Dragon season 3 releases later this year. According to HBO chief Casey Bloys, Martin wasn't too involved in the upcoming season. "He definitely took a step back," Bloys told Deadline. "And I would say he’s definitely been focusing on Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. And I will tell you one of the reasons why [head of drama] Frannie [Orsi] and I really thought about the Knight of Seven Kingdoms as an interesting adaptation is, we had always heard and know that it was George’s favorite, that was meaningful to us."
As the creator of A Song of Ice and Fire, Martin's thoughts hold a lot of power. As they should; this is his world at the end of the day. But also, Condal was hired to do his job and HBO have given him their backing. Bloys doesn't want the disagreements to be made public.
"Like any good American family, I would prefer that our dysfunction stays behind closed doors. But here we are," Bloys joked. "What I would say is George introduced us to Ryan as the person that he thought would be the best to create House the Dragon. And I will say Ryan has been an excellent showrunner and a really great partner and collaborator, so we embrace his vision and his creative choices, or we wouldn’t have done it."
The mere nature of putting two creatives together with such deep involvement on the same project lends itself to disagreements. Bloys insists that viewers should not read too much into it. "George is a great partner for us to have. The idea that he is going to agree with every creator or showrunner that is either developing or producing, two artists are not always going to agree," he concludes, adding: "Some of this comes with the territory."
House of the Dragon returns for season 3 this summer. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 is currently streaming on HBO.