House Of The Dragon Season 2 Release: The Game of Thrones prequel series will return for the second season in summer 2024.
- House of Dragon Season 1 debuted on HBO on August 21, 2022, and concluded on Oct 23, 2022.
- Five days after Season 1’s premiere, HBO renewed the series for a second season.
House of the Dragon is an American fantasy drama television series. Created by Ryan Condal and George R. R. Martin, this HBO prequel series is chock-full of gripping drama, bloody deaths, and messy characters, much like Game of Thrones.
The first season of House of the Dragon started airing on August 21, 2022. The 10-episode season concluded on Oct 23, 2022, and needless to say, fans are excited for more. Five days after its premiere, HBO renewed the series for a second season. The fans are excited to know more details about the upcoming season and if you are one of them you are definitely at the right place.
So, when will House of the Dragon Season 2 be released? What does the upcoming season have in store? Who is the cast? Well, to find out, keep reading.
Was House of the Dragon renewed for season 2?
A big yes! On August 26, 2022, just five days after its season 1 premiere, the series got an early renewal for another installment.
House of Dragon Season 1 debuted on HBO on August 21, 2022, with ten episodes. The first season was favorably received by both the general viewers and critics. Apart from good ratings and reviews, House of the Dragon drew about 10 million viewers on its opening night premiere, which increased to 25 million over the next episodes.
According to Variety, House of the Dragon drew an average of 29 million viewers throughout its first five episodes. The statistic was determined by combining Nielsen ratings with streaming viewership across HBO Max and other platforms.
Is there a release date for House of the Dragon season 2 yet?
Coming to the release date, HBO revealed that Season 2 will premiere in the “early summer” of 2024.
Despite the dual Hollywood strikes (WGA and SAG-AFTRA) that resulted in filming delays, the HBO production was able to continue filming this past summer because of its UK-based union contract.
Game of Thrones followed a strict April to June release schedule for most of its seasons. So, we are expecting House of the Dragon to follow the same release schedule as its first season. Though there is no release date, one can expect House of the Dragon Season 3 to premiere around August 2024.
How many episodes will be there in the second season?
The second season is going to feature eight episodes, two fewer episodes than season 1. Per Deadline, an HBO spokesperson claimed the decision to shorten season 2 to eight episodes was “story-driven.”
A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin who is also the co-creator earlier wrote in his blog in October 2022: “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.”
So, it is safe to assume that we will get more seasons but the pace will slow down as showrunner Ryan Condal re-iterated.
What will be the plot of House Of The Dragon Season 2?
Based on parts of the novel Fire & Blood, the series is set about 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen, a descendant of the eponymous royal house, and 100 years after the Seven Kingdoms is united by the Targaryen Conquest. It portrays the beginning of the end of House Targaryen, the events leading up to and covering the Targaryen civil war of succession, known as the “Dance of the Dragons”.
The last episode of season one left things on a dismal note, including Luke’s death by dragon. At the end of the finale, Rhaenyra sends her firstborn son Jacaerys to meet with Cregan Stark. We can expect season two to pick off right where the plot left off in season one.
“Season 1 was setting the table for a very bloody feast to come,” co-creator Ryan Condal explained. “The reason that I wanted to really spend our time doing this is because I wanted everybody to understand who all of these characters were and the long history they had behind them — behind their fathers and their grandfathers — that led us to this point where they end up fighting a civil war against each other. I’m really interested in picking up with all of those characters that we spent all of this time introducing, particularly Rhaenyra and Alicent’s families, and seeing what happens now that we’ve flipped the chessboard over and spilled the pieces on the ground. How do all those react? That’s the story that we tell in season 2 and beyond.”
Condal adds that season two will still “very much” be the story of Alicent and Rhaenyra. In April 2023, Condal said, “I’m excited to pick up where we left off. Now we get to fall into the more traditional rhythms of storytelling and Game of Thrones. We’ve always talked about this particular tale, George [R.R. Martin] has too, of being a Shakespearean or Greek tragedy. This series is very much about a house tearing itself apart from within. Now that all those pieces have been set on the board, I’m really excited to tell the next chapter, to see what happens now that Viserys is gone and no longer keeping a lid on things.”
Who is in the cast of House Of The Dragon Season 2?
According to Variety, the main cast returns for the second season. The House of the Dragon season 2 cast includes:
- Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen
- Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen
- Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower
- Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower
- Eve Best as Rhaenys Targaryen
- Steve Touissant as Corlys Velaryon
- Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole
- Matthew Needham as Larys Strong
- Ewan Mitchell as Aemond Targaryen
- Tom Glynn-Carney as Aegon Targaryen
- Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria
- Harry Collett as Prince Jacaerys Velaryon
- Bethany Antonia as Baela Targaryen
- Phoebe Campbell as Rhaena Targaryen
- Phia Saban as Helaena Targaryen
- Jefferson Hall as Ser Tyland Lannister
We will be some new faces, including:
- Abubakar Salim as Alyn of Hull
- Gayle Rankin as Alys Rivers
- Freddie Fox as Ser Gwayne Hightower
- Simon Russell Beale as Ser Simon Strong
- Tom Taylor as Lord Cregan Stark
- Clinton Liberty as Addam of Hull
- Jamie Kenna as Ser Alfred Broome
- Kieran Bew as Hugh
- Tom Bennett as Ulf
- Vincent Regan as Ser Rickard Thorne
Is there any trailer?
HBO surprised fans on December 2 by dropping an official teaser trailer and premiere date news. In the House of the Dragon season 2 trailer, we see the feud between Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower reach a boiling point. A civil war follows as the two lineages fight for who will ascend to the Iron Throne.
“There is no war so hateful to the gods as a war between kin,” Rhaenyra says in a teaser, as her aunt Rhaenys Targaryen continues: “And no war so bloody as a war between dragons.”
In the trailer, Daemon Targaryen is seen getting ready in his impressive armor, knights are on horseback, soldiers are ablaze, and many key characters are shown riding their dragons into the heat of battle.
Where to watch House of the Dragon?
In the countries where HBO and HBO Max are available, the series will be exclusively available on these platforms. You can stream all episodes of House of the Dragon season 1 exclusively through Max right now via the Max website or the Max app.
Indian viewers will be able to watch the series on Disney + Hotstar. In the UK, you can either watch it on Sky Atlantic or gain access to HBO content with a NOW subscription service. Read details on how to watch House of the Dragon.
