House of the Dragon Series Order Announced

[Westeros]

News is moving fast. We posted just a little while ago about Condal’s series getting a rumored pilot order… and now word is that the show, titled House of the Dragon, now has a full series order for ten epiodes, according to Variety. Condal and Miguel Sapochnik will be co-showrunners, with George R.R. Martin and Vince Gerardis as executive producers alongside.

This is an amazingly fast news day, to say the least.

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[SpaceChampion]

Wow, why a full series order when the other one just got a failed pilot?

It sounds like this might start out *before* the conquest.  Maybe from the days of the Targs fleeing Valyria.  The first episode could be their initial arrival at Dragonstone.

Also, it could just be an anthology show, and do the whole 300 year history.

[The Bard of Banefort]

So this is likely about Aegon's Conquest, right? It seems weird that they'd be going forward with both this show and the Dance at the same time, since I imagine they're both going to be marketed around the dragons-riding-into-war aspect. Maybe they're going to make two different series pilots, but then only pursue one?

[Mordor]

Good news indeed! I hope HBO can use Naomi Watts in the new series. Such a shame if they can't get a role to her after the prequel fiasco. 

[Lord Varys]

When a guy named Gerardis is actually part of the project, that's likely going to be a big hint about the content ;-).

37 minutes ago, The Bard of Banefort said:

So this is likely about Aegon's Conquest, right? It seems weird that they'd be going forward with both this show and the Dance at the same time, since I imagine they're both going to be marketed around the dragons-riding-into-war aspect. Maybe they're going to make two different series pilots, but then only pursue one?

Earlier reports indicated it was about the Dance and, of course hopefully, about the buildup to it, meaning those first ten episodes won't be Dance but rather, say, starting with Baelon's death and the Great Council until, say, Rhaenyra's falling-out with Criston Cole and her first wedding.

Dragon action and the like could be included via the Stepstones war at that point.

But I certainly wouldn't have an issue with a Conquest series, especially if they took their time building up the characters.

And as I complained earlier - this has to be done with the Dance, too. If we don't get proper buildup and background information on the motivations and stakes of the various characters, then this would be a pointless story.

[of man and wolf]

GRRM should focus on the books please.

[The Dragon Demands]

They said it was about the Dance...but news sites that DIDN'T READ FIRE & BLOOD just sort of read off the back cover blurb that "Fire & Blood is set 300 years ago"...well yeah, it STARTS then, but moves ahead.

….I'm looking forward to Elio & Linda giving their thoughts on this in a new YouTube video, like they did for the Long Night prequel when it was announced.

[Lord Varys]

25 minutes ago, The Dragon Demands said:

They said it was about the Dance...but news sites that DIDN'T READ FIRE & BLOOD just sort of read off the back cover blurb that "Fire & Blood is set 300 years ago"...well yeah, it STARTS then, but moves ahead.

….I'm looking forward to Elio & Linda giving their thoughts on this in a new YouTube video, like they did for the Long Night prequel when it was announced.

Yeah, sure, but a series called HOUSE OF THE DRAGON seems to be thematically open to be an anthology show about all the Targaryens, not just the Dance. At least insofar as the title is concerned. If they wanted to make it more concrete, they could have gone with something along the lines of THE DANCE OF THE DRAGONS, DRAGON WAR, THE DYING OF THE DRAGONS, etc.

[zionius]

Casey Bloys said “We look forward to exploring the origins of House Targaryen and the earlier days of Westeros along with Miguel, Ryan and George.” Looks like S1 would focus on Conquest.

[ShimShim]

I'm looking forward to more Dragon action. I'm just hoping the dragon designs in term or their color and the color of their fire is close to the book descriptions. I didn't like the color they gave Rheagal and especially Viserion in GoT, it was so muted. And they didn't even bother with the dragon fire being different colors in GoT. So I hope this new show fixes that.

[Krishtotter]

I was sorry to hear the Long Night show had been cancelled, mainly in light of the time and effort that obviously must have gone into the production of its pilot, but I must admit the House of the Dragon looks a good deal better.

It had been my suspicion that the Jane Goldman series was doomed (much like Old Valyria) the minute the first reports surfaced that a Targaryen, Dance of Dragons show was about to be greenlit.

I would be happy with either the Conquest or the Targaryen civil war.

 

[Sand11751]

Glad to have this instead of the Long Night. The Targs and their dragons / history have been one of the more fascinating elements of the books. 

[Mwm]

11 hours ago, Westeros said:

News is moving fast. We posted just a little while ago about Condal’s series getting a rumored pilot order… and now word is that the show, titled House of the Dragon, now has a full series order for ten epiodes, according to Variety. Condal and Miguel Sapochnik will be co-showrunners, with George R.R. Martin and Vince Gerardis as executive producers alongside.

This is an amazingly fast news day, to say the least.

 

read on >>>

 

View the full article

“The Game of Thrones universe is so rich with stories,” said HBO programming president Casey Bloys. “We look forward to exploring the origins of House Targaryen and the earlier days of Westeros along with Miguel, Ryan and George.” 

From Verge: 

The goal is to eventually have the events of the new series lead up to The Dance of the Dragons. It’s a major moment in the Seven Kingdoms history, leading to an all out civil war between two rival faction of House Targaryen

 

Huh-I wonder what that could mean! From the origins of House Targaryen leading up to the Dance of Dragons... Like I have said, it's an ANTHOLOGY SHOW.

[Rose of Red Lake]

Cool, I can't wait to see more delusional notions of supremacy, lust for power, hubris, madness, and tragedy for Westeros' most disasterous House. Excited to watch a family that we know eventually fails to live up to their own hype and to watch audiences fall for tyrannical propaganda all over again because they like pretty white people.

[Lord Varys]

9 hours ago, zionius said:

Casey Bloys said “We look forward to exploring the origins of House Targaryen and the earlier days of Westeros along with Miguel, Ryan and George.” Looks like S1 would focus on Conquest.

I'd not make too much of stuff like that considering the guys at the top might not really give a damn about the content they use to make money.

And, in fact, if you 'look back in time' from the point of view of the main series the Dance certainly would be part of 'the origin story' of House Targaryen - basically everything in FaB would be part of such an origin story.

3 hours ago, Mwm said:

Huh-I wonder what that could mean! From the origins of House Targaryen leading up to the Dance of Dragons... Like I have said, it's an ANTHOLOGY SHOW.

It could mean that. One could see a decent show on the Conquest, the First Dornish War, the Faith Militant Uprising, and the early years of the reign of Jaehaerys I. Bridging things from there to the reign of Viserys I would be problematic, though.

However, one should keep in mind that them rusing into the Dance could very well cause the same problem they had with ASoIaF, meaning that they run out of material too early. Not sure it would make all that much sense to go back to do the Conquest or other earlier stuff after they did the Dance, so perhaps they start with the beginning.

[SeanF]

1 hour ago, Rose of Red Lake said:

Cool, I can't wait to see more delusional notions of supremacy, lust for power, hubris, madness, and tragedy for Westeros' most disasterous House. Excited to watch a family that we know eventually fails to live up to their own hype and to watch audiences fall for tyrannical propaganda all over again because they like pretty white people.

Why do you think we enjoy stories about the Caesars?

The Targaryens have a kind of "rock star" quality which other Houses lack. They're like the Kennedys, Borgias, and early Romanovs rolled into one.

[Rose of Red Lake]

27 minutes ago, SeanF said:

Why do you think we enjoy stories about the Caesars?

The Targaryens have a kind of "rock star" quality which other Houses lack. They're like the Kennedys, Borgias, and early Romanovs rolled into one.

Rock stars...like Spinal Tap? Who are also mass murderers? They're entertaining in that way. I can't wait to laugh at their buffoonery and pompousness.

[Lord Varys]

26 minutes ago, SeanF said:

Why do you think we enjoy stories about the Caesars?

The Targaryens have a kind of "rock star" quality which other Houses lack. They're like the Kennedys, Borgias, and early Romanovs rolled into one.

To be sure, it is somewhat of downer to assume/know that the family is doomed. That really takes away the point of it all to some degree.

But more importantly, FaB is, unfortunately, not a series of novels. We don't get living, breathing characters there, but rather an overview.

The show can and might be really good if the writers really develop living, breathing characters and give us their thoughts and motivations to the same amount of detail as the ASoIaF novels did. But we are, at this point, not all that invested in many of the historical characters. The reason why many of the death scenes in the books are so powerful is that you emotionally invested in the characters.

And then there is the fact that the whole history book angle might be dropped in a series - unless they make uncertainty part of the narrative structure (which could be great). Part of the fun is that we don't really know what happened between Rhaenyra and Criston Cole or that we don't really know who the father of Addam and Alyn Velaryon is (or what exactly happened between Daemon and Nettles). If the show settles for one scenario over any of the other possibilities given then this might actually diminish the story and characters rather than make it more complex.

If this whole thing is done the wrong way it could very quickly become very cliché.

[SeanF]

9 minutes ago, Lord Varys said:

To be sure, it is somewhat of downer to assume/know that the family is doomed. That really takes away the point of it all to some degree.

But more importantly, FaB is, unfortunately, not a series of novels. We don't get living, breathing characters there, but rather an overview.

The show can and might be really good if the writers really develop living, breathing characters and give us their thoughts and motivations to the same amount of detail as the ASoIaF novels did. But we are, at this point, not all that invested in many of the historical characters. The reason why many of the death scenes in the books are so powerful is that you emotionally invested in the characters.

And then there is the fact that the whole history book angle might be dropped in a series - unless they make uncertainty part of the narrative structure (which could be great). Part of the fun is that we don't really know what happened between Rhaenyra and Criston Cole or that we don't really know who the father of Addam and Alyn Velaryon is (or what exactly happened between Daemon and Nettles). If the show settles for one scenario over any of the other possibilities given then this might actually diminish the story and characters rather than make it more complex.

If this whole thing is done the wrong way it could very quickly become very cliché.

Given the way D & D pissed all over their last descendant in Season 8, it certainly reduces my enthusiasm for this series.

I'd like to get Visenya's story.  She's my favourite Targaryen.

[Lord Varys]

1 minute ago, SeanF said:

Given the way D & D pissed all over their last descendant in Season 8, it certainly reduces my enthusiasm for this series.

Well, to be sure, they fucked all the houses. A history of the Starks would look equally pointless now, not to mention a history of the Tyrells, Martells, Lannisters, Arryns, or Baratheons. Even the Greyjoys suck.

The difference between real history and fake history is that the Caesars actually existed. Historical drama is, I think, more fun if there is actual history to it. And that's lacking with George's dynasties.

The fact that those houses seemed to have a future is certainly a major point what made them interesting. But a family history is just depressing if you know that they are not going to get anywhere.