Winter is coming ... this summer.
HBO has finally revealed when the highly anticipated Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon will debut: August 21. That's less than two weeks before Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which premieres on Sept. 2 — meaning the competing fantasy shows will be debuting new episodes at the same time.
Set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon is centered around members of House Targaryen, and its cast includes Matt Smith, Paddy Considine, Olivia Cooke, Emma D'Arcy, Steve Toussaint, and Rhys Ifans. It's based on George R.R. Martin's book about the history of the Targaryens, Fire & Blood.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This will be the first of a number of Game of Thrones spinoff series HBO has in the works, and it comes after the network scrapped one of the planned spinoff shows in 2019 despite spending over $30 million on a pilot. Martin is a producer on House of the Dragon, and he said earlier this month that "what I have seen" from the show, "I have loved." He also provided an update on some of the other spinoffs.
"We are developing live action shows for HBO, and animated shows for HBO Max," Martin said. "No, can't tell you how many. But it is my hope that a number of these shows will get on the air. Not all, no, it is never all, but more than one. I certainly hope so. Some of the ideas we are working on are quite different in tone and approach than what has gone before, and that thrills me."
Amazon, meanwhile, hopes to create the next Game of Thrones with its Lord of the Rings prequel series, and the company reportedly spent $465 million on just the first season alone. Between HBO and Amazon, who will emerge with the one Thrones successor to rule them all?
-
Can Trump put his tariffs on stronger legal footing?Today's Big Question Appeals court says 'emergency' tariffs are improper
-
Film reviews: The Roses, Splitsville, and TwinlessFeature A happy union devolves into domestic warfare, a couple's open marriage reaps chaos, and an unlikely friendship takes surprising turns
-
Thought-provoking podcasts you may have missed this summerThe Week Recommends Check out a true crime binger, a deep-dive into history and more
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
