Fans of HBO’s House of the Dragon will be disappointed to learn that the second season of the show will be getting eight episodes, two less than the previous season.
House of the Dragon Gets an Eight Episode Season
The initial plan was for a ten-episode season. The shorter season has been suggested to have been because of a focus on cost-cutting. The script underwent changes because of a shorter season. An HBO spokesperson, however, says that the episode count was story driven.
The third season of the show is close to being greenlit according to sources. HBO is aiming to try to think long term instead of approaching it season-by-season. Unlike A Game of Thrones, this George R.R. Martin show is adapted from a book that is finished.
George R.R. Martin’s Prediction for the Show
Martin previously said that he was glad that the show was able to get a 10-episode season and estimated that it would take four seasons to fully tell the story.
“I am thrilled that we still have 10 hours every season to tell our tale,” Martin said “I hope that will continue to be true. It is going to take four full seasons of 10 episodes each to do justice to the Dance of the Dragons, from start to finish.”
That may change how many seasons the show will have. Maybe they wanted to prolong the show because it was a huge hit for HBO last year.
Time Will Tell How This Change will Affect the Show
Getting fewer episodes is not going to sit well with many fans. But if HBO can still produce the show at a high level, it will be forgotten. Amazon’s The Rings of Power had eight episodes and that wasn’t an issue. Only time will tell how this decision will affect the show.