House of the Dragon season 2 is already officially announced following the Game of Thrones prequel’s record-setting HBO premiere. Game of Thrones season 8’s controversial finale left HBO in a precarious place to continue adapting content based on George R.R. Martin’s hit novels. After filming a failed pilot starring Naomi Watts and mulling over several other proposed spinoffs and prequels, House of the Dragon was chosen to be the first Game of Thrones followup series. The prequel show takes place nearly 200 years before the original series and focuses on the Targaryen dynasty and a new cast of characters.
The debut of House of the Dragon was highly anticipated as viewers became anxious to see if the Game of Thrones prequel could deliver on the storytelling quality and intrigue the original show possessed. After a long wait, House of the Dragon debuted on HBO on Sunday and immediately hooked viewers. Characters like Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcott) and Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) immediately stood out, while major Game of Thrones revelations were also included. HBO quickly announced the enormous response to the premiere, as House of the Dragon episode 1 generated over 10 million viewers, the highest premiere for any HBO show ever.
Following the record-setting premiere, HBO has wasted no time in announcing that House of the Dragon season 2 is officially happening. The news comes ahead of season 1, episode 2 debuting in just a few days. There are no official details available at this time about when House of the Dragon season 2 will release, when it will begin production, or which of the cast members will return. Check out the announcement video shared by the official House of the Dragon Twitter account below:
Thanks to the positive response and record-breaking premiere, a House of the Dragon season 2 renewal was quite clearly going to happen. HBO making the announcement at this point could possibly help speed up the development of the second season. Getting the first Game of Thrones spinoff off the ground and onto television screens was a long process, which included 10 months of filming. The early response to the Game of Thrones prequel show likely means HBO does not want to wait too long before giving audiences more. House of the Dragon season 2 can now begin its development in the hopes of narrowing a release window to sometime in 2023 or 2024.
Knowing that House of the Dragon season 2 is already happening could also help viewers get more invested in the first season. There is no longer any doubt that HBO could surprisingly cancel the series after a single season. It also means that showrunner Ryan Condal’s plans for multiple House of the Dragon seasons exploring different eras in the Targaryen dynasty ruling Westeros can begin to take shape. Of course, those familiar with the history Martin established in the books know where the story is ultimately going, but House of the Dragon season 2 can now continue the TV adaptation.
