HBO chairman and CEO Casey Bloys has revealed what many had long suspected – House of the Dragon is set to end with its fourth season.
Speaking to Deadline, Bloys was asked about showrunner Ryan Condal's expectation that the fantasy series, which follows the Targaryen civil war some 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, would come to a close with season 4.
Bloys replied, "Yes, that is the idea. The idea has always been to follow the history of the Targaryens. If you know the books, you know how the Targaryens end up. So there is a natural end to this particular history of that House of the Targaryens."
Despite the seeming certainty over the HBO show's future, the fourth season's episode count is decidedly less concrete.
"Ryan is working, like any show, like this: he is finishing post on season 3 and working with the writers on what season 4 looks like. I don’t know where he’s landed on the episode count yet," Bloys said.
The third season of House of the Dragon is set to premiere later this year, but much of the recent conversation surrounding the show has been about George R.R. Martin's (increasingly publicized) feud with showrunner Ryan Condal.
After criticizing House of the Dragon season 2 on his personal blog, Martin followed up on the creative breakdown in a later interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
"I would give notes, and nothing would happen," Martin explained. "Sometimes he would explain why he wasn't doing it. Other times, he would tell me, 'Oh, OK, yeah, I'll think about that.' It got worse and worse, and I began to get more and more annoyed. Finally, it got to a point where I was told by HBO that I should submit all my notes to them and they would give Ryan our combined notes."
In a Zoom call with HBO, Martin reportedly declared, "This is not my story any longer."
For more, check out our guide on new TV shows, plus all the latest on A Knight of the Seven Kingdom's release schedule.
