George RR Martin: 'House of the Dragon needs 4 seasons to tell its story'
We'll be seeing a lot more of the squabbling Targaryens if Martin has his way.
Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon continues to storm through its story at rapid pace, with big time jumps having happened between most of the episodes this season.
However, George RR Martin, the writer of the Song of Ice and Fire novels as well as Fire & Blood on which the show is based, has now weighed in on the time jumps, admitting that he would love it if the series had more time to explore some plot points - but still maintaining there is plenty of story left to tell.
Writing on his blog, Martin said that he did wish the show had more time to portray "the relationship between Rhaenyra and Ser Harwin, the marriage of Daemon and Laena and their time in Pentos, the birth of various and sundry children" and "everything else we had to skip".
However, he said that he thought showrunner Ryan Condal had handled the jumps well and admitted that there are "only so many minutes in an episode" and "only so many episodes in a season".
Martin added that he is still "thrilled" that the show gets to have "10 hours every season to tell our tale", adding that "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".
This tracks with what we had previously been told. Back in July, a source told The Hollywood Reporter that the series was planned to last for three or four seasons.
The Song of Ice and Fire writer also had high praise for Viserys actor Paddy Considine, saying his character in the show "is so much more powerful and tragic and fully-fleshed than my own version in Fire & Blood that I am half tempted to go back and rip up those chapters and rewrite the whole history of his reign."
Martin added that "Paddy deserves an Emmy for [episode 8] alone. If he doesn’t get one, hey, there’s no justice."
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There are just two episodes left in this season of House of the Dragon, but fans needn't worry - the show has already been recommissioned for a second season, with Francesca Orsi from HBO saying: "We are beyond proud of what the entire House of the Dragon team has accomplished with season 1.
"Our phenomenal cast and crew undertook a massive challenge and exceeded all expectations, delivering a show that has already established itself as must-see-TV. A huge thank you to George, Ryan, and Miguel [Sapochnik, director] for leading us on this journey. We couldn’t be more excited to continue bringing to life the epic saga of House Targaryen with season 2."
House of the Dragon airs on Sky Atlantic and is available on NOW – find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV. Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
