House of the Dragon was always destined for a second season

HBO has another smash hit on its hands with House of the Dragon, its Game of Thrones successor show. The series debuted Sunday to an impressive audience of nearly 10 million people, making it one of the most popular shows of the year so far. In light of that success, HBO announced on Friday that it’s renewing House of the Dragon for a second season ... but that was never really in doubt.

For one thing, creators George R.R. Martin and Ryan Condal and co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik have been openly talking about season 2 for several months now, giving the show’s future seasons off-hand mentions during events like San Diego Comic-Con. But more importantly, House of the Dragon is HBO’s biggest play. It’s the network’s most prestigious show and, despite some very silly concern-trolling, is a prequel to one of the most popular and widely loved series in television history.

This is also just how television works now. Most shows that are this big and require this many unique props, sets, costumes, and locations get two seasons right off the bat. Paramount gave Halo a second season before it even got started, Amazon did the same with Wheel of Time, and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is already set to run for five.

Even if this news isn’t a great shock, it’s nice for House of the Dragon fans to hear official word that the series will return to continue the story of the Targaryen civil war. The announcement should also assure fans that the first season’s table-setting will be well rewarded with massive battles and even more plotting and backstabbing in the show’s future.

There’s no word yet on when House of the Dragon’s second season will air, but based on Game of Thrones’ schedule, it seems likely that season 2 will premiere sometime in 2023.