Break out the bubbly, ‘Game of Thrones’ fans: The Targaryens are returning to HBO, and soon.
By Mariam Abdullahi
Over at Variety, it has been reported that ‘House of the Dragon’, HBO’s first spin-off series of its record-breaking smash-hit ‘Game of Thrones’ will premiere on August 21, as the network announced today, Wednesday.
Taking place two centuries before the events of ‘Game of Thrones’, the ten-episode prequel series will depict how the House of Targaryen fell into a bitter and brutal civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons, presaging the beginning of the end of the ruling family of Westeros.
Created by author George R. R. Martin and Ryan J. Condal, the series is based on Martin’s novel ‘Fire & Blood’. Much like the original series, it boasts a robust cast, with a smaller set of main characters including Paddy Considine (as King Viserys I), Emmy D’Arcy (as Princess Rhaenrya, Viserys’ first child and his heir apparent), Matt Smith (as Prince Daemon, Viserys’ younger brother), Rhys Ifans (as Ser Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King), Olivia Cooke (as Lady Alicent Hightower, Otto’s daughter) and Fabien Frankel (as Ser Criston Cole, a knight with eyes for Rhaenrya).
The premiere date means ‘House of the Dragon’ will debut earlier than 2022’s other major fantasy series, Amazon Prime Video’s trip to Middle Earth, a prequel to the widely popular and acclaimed original, with the newest one head-scratchingly titled ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’, which will debut on September 2 this year.
Per the Variety report, in February, Martin announced on his personal blog that shooting on Season 1 of ‘House of the Dragon’ had wrapped. “I have seen rough cuts of a few of them, and I’m loving them,” Martin wrote.
The same month, HBO and HBO Max chief Casey Bloys said “it’s probably a pretty good bet” that the network will order a second season of the show. “Generally speaking, we usually let something air and see how it does, but obviously, we’ll make preparations ahead of time to make sure we’re ahead of the game,” he said.
