House of the Dragonwas in an unenviable position when it hit the screen. Its predecessor,Game of Thrones, was an unprecedented pop-cultural phenomenon that fell from grace in its final seasons. The prequel had to simultaneously compete with one of the best shows in the genre and escape accusations that the franchise was dead. Against all odds,House of the Dragonturned out to be an extremely enjoyable series. While it didn’t recapture the glory days, it did prove that there’s still plenty of material to explore. Unfortunately, the new TV ecosystem is hostile to its own content.
Game of Thronesstarted one year after HBO launched its first attempt at a streaming service. HBO Go was an early effort that died around 2020 when thecompany put out HBO Max. During the show’s eight-year run, viewership gradually shifted from the traditional methods to digital streaming. At the series' peak, 25 million people tuned into an average episode, with around 40% of those numbers coming from the nascent streaming efforts. This movement helped usher in the slow and painful death of cable while ushering in the streaming era, which has brought with it a host of new problems.
House of the DragonSeason 2
8
Release Dates
Jun 22, 2025, to June 10, 2025
House of the Dragonseason two has a ton of high points, but it ultimately feels incomplete. It would be hyperbole to suggest, as many others have, that the characters are all in the same positions as they were when they started the season. Relationships have changed, the balance of power has shifted dramatically, every avenue for peace has been exhausted, and there are several new players on the board. The season featured a few immense high points that could stand alongside some of the best episodes ofGame of Thrones. Unfortunately, the season concludes with a massive montage of people preparing for a conflict that fans won’t actually get to see for at least a couple of years.That anti-climactic conclusion has a purpose, but it feels like a bad note to leave things on. If asked in private, the creators of the show might agree with that statement.
Did HBO cutHouse of the Dragonseason two short?
The decision to reduceHouse of the Dragonseason two from the usual ten episodes to eight might have come from several sources. Creatives on the show don’t speak about it very often. In an interview withDeadline, Francesca Orsi, HBO’s head of drama, said this about the change in length:
There was some question about the narrative shape of Season 2. We were developing it with Ryan Condal and Sara Hess, and we realized that we were sort of treading water narratively in the middle of the season, so it just felt much more rigorous, more urgent emotional arc for our characters if we compressed the season. And then that also dictated how we would kick off Season 3.
This implies that the decision happened atsome point in the scripting phaseand that the change was made for quality purposes. The story got too bloated and the only way to keep tension high was to end things before the war really kicks off and spend two years away from everything. That seems like a strange decision. For her part, executive producer and writer Sara Hess briefly statedthis to Entertainment Weekly:
It wasn’t really our choice.
It’s hard not to notice the fact that the next two episodes ofHouse of the Dragonseason two wouldhave involved a massive battle with a ton of CGI. It would have been a pretty nasty price tag for a company that isn’t doing great at the moment. It’s much better to delay, save the cash, and leave the audience hanging for season three. This leads to a massive wait, another chance to boost HBO Max subscriptions when the next season comes out, and a vastly reduced financial burden for this year. The massive cost of modern TV puts several wounds inHouse of the Dragonthat would have been abit less severe inGame of Thrones. The same problem guarantees that the gap between seasons will be a bit more irritating.
When willHouse of the Dragonseason three come out?
House of the Dragonwon’tstart filming again until the start of next year. While HBO has offered no specific guarantee, it seems far too generous to expect the show any time before 2026. The gap between the first two seasons was just under two years, so it wouldn’t be unlikely to expect the same from the next series. The next spin-off,A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, will premiere next June, likely long before the next season. The gap and the quality of the next show might be enough to kill any enthusiasm for the show that used to dominate the cultural conversation.
House of the Dragonis a great example of TV shows costing too much, taking too long, and bending around business decisions that should have nothing to do with the work. The business is eating itself, and the streaming boom is largely to blame. The only bright side is thatHouse of the Dragonhasn’t been canceled, like most shows that do anything less than set the world on fire.House of the Dragonmight be a big enough name and a good enough show to narrowly survive the modern struggles, but it’s worth thinking about the other 90% of enjoyable programming that might not make it out alive.
