Since it is a British production made for HBO HOUSE OF THE DRAGON is not hindered by the industry strikes in the U. S. That means the show will get in front of our eyes with no delays. In fact, it might just show up on HBO and Max sooner than expected since they are shaving two episodes off of the second season.
What? That’s right, season two will consist of eight episodes as opposed to ten, but for good logical reasons. It is not because the production company was ordered to cut expenses by dropping the two installments. The reason is that the show didn’t want to lock into a definite ten episodes that might contain unneeded scenes just to fill the timeslot. They’d rather trim the fat to make for more solid episodes instead. If the story can be told in a shorter, more intense timeframe why add filler?
One of the directors on the new season, Clare Kilner, told THR that it was indeed an intentional move by showrunner Ryan Condal. “There are eight wonderful episodes with so much happening in every episode, and we have trouble, at times, bringing them down to one hour. Ryan’s decision was to give it a good opening and a good ending, and they’re jam-packed with emotional and visually exciting events.”
Kilner goes on to say, “It’s very inspiring because there are five directors, and they’re all different, and we’re all watching the dailies and commenting on one another’s work. We can’t help it; we’re all a bit competitive. So, Alan [Taylor] helps us up our game. He’s such an accomplished director, and I really love the way he uses depth of field and focus in his storytelling to bring viewers’ attention to certain elements in the frame.”
It all makes it sound like it is going to be an exciting season. Dare we speculate a March or even January 2024 debut? HOUSE OF THE DRAGON’s second season did get underway in April of this year, at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden in Watford, England, and then moved to Cáceres, Spain by May. So, our speculation is not anything unreasonable. We will keep you posted.
