House of the Dragon

House of the Dragon is an American fantasy drama television series created by Ryan Condal and George R. R. Martin for HBO. It is a prequel to Game of Thrones and adapts material from Martin's 2018 book Fire & Blood, a fictional history of House Targaryen. Set roughly two centuries before Game of Thrones, the series centers on the Targaryen civil war remembered as the Dance of the Dragons. HBO ordered the show after an earlier Game of Thrones prequel project, Bloodmoon, was not taken forward. The first season premiered on August 21, 2022, and consists of ten episodes. It begins during the reign of King Viserys I Targaryen, played by Paddy Considine. Viserys names his daughter, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, his heir. Milly Alcock portrays the younger Rhaenyra, while Emma D'Arcy plays the character later in life. Her claim is challenged after Queen Alicent Hightower, played in adulthood by Olivia Cooke, bears Viserys's sons. The season portrays changing alliances, contested succession, and the escalating rivalry between Rhaenyra and Alicent, who were childhood companions. Prominent characters include Prince Daemon Targaryen, Viserys's volatile younger brother, played by Matt Smith; Corlys Velaryon, the seafaring head of House Velaryon, played by Steve Toussaint; and Rhaenys Targaryen, played by Eve Best. The story also follows marriages between the royal and Velaryon houses and the struggle over succession at King's Landing. Its title refers to the dynasty's dragons, which serve as weapons of war as well as symbols of royal authority. Miguel Sapochnik co-showran the first season with Condal and directed its premiere episode, “The Heirs of the Dragon.” The second season premiered on June 16, 2024, with eight episodes. It takes place after the first-season succession crisis becomes open conflict. Rhaenyra's supporters are known as the Blacks, while those backing Alicent's son Aegon II are called the Greens. Tom Glynn-Carney plays Aegon II, and Ewan Mitchell plays his brother Aemond Targaryen. The conflict is inseparable from dragon riders and their mounts, including Rhaenyra's Syrax and Daemon's Caraxes. Production was filmed principally in England, and the series used Warner Bros. Leavesden Studios as a major base. The first season received multiple Emmy Award nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series, and its premiere drew HBO's largest audience for a new original series at that time. By dramatizing a recorded Targaryen catastrophe rather than inventing a distant corner of Westeros, House of the Dragon returns to familiar families, locations, and political consequences central to Martin's world.