HBO's Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon ended its first run of episodes in late October 2022, leaving fans eagerly awaiting a second season - one that is still realistically quite a way off.
We've gathered all the key details you need to know about the next season of House of the Dragon right here, including returning cast members, estimated release windows and more besides.
House of the Dragon season 2: Release date
House of the Dragon's second season hasn't yet started production, so we're still likely to be a long while away from it actually airing.
The show is expected to start production on its next season in early 2023, which would tee it up for an air date sometime in 2024 based on previous HBO shows and their lead-in times. A show that involves this many CGI dragons, after all, involves a lot of post-production and effects that take time to craft.
This was confirmed by HBO Max chief content officer Casey Bloys in late October 2022, who was very clear on one point - "Don’t expect it in 2023."
How to watch House of the Dragon season 2
Obviously, as we've covered above, season 2 of House of the Dragon isn't even close to being out yet, but when it does release we've got a clear sense of where you'll be able to watch it.
US
Given that this is a wholly original HBO production, the situation is clear in the US - you'll be able to watch House of the Dragon's second season on HBO via cable, or through HBO Max.
UK
For those of us in the UK, Sky's ongoing deal with HBO means that House of the Dragon should come to its Sky Atlantic channel, and to Now TV's Entertainment passes, when the next season releases.
If anything changes on that front, or if HBO were to launch its own streaming platform in the UK, we'll update this to reflect those changes.
House of the Dragon season 2: Cast and crew
We do know a decent amount about what's on the horizon for the cast and crew of the first season as they prepare for a second stint - for one thing, one of two showrunners has departed the project.
Miguel Sapochnik has stepped back after a long involvement with Game of Thrones, leaving Ryan Condal as the showrunner. He'll work in tandem with writers and George R R Martin himself to craft future seasons.
Condal has confirmed that we're now through the era of timeskips - the timeline from here is a lot more linear, with no recasting of characters and no big jumps forward in time, like those we repeatedly got in the first season.
That means that we can be confident of a bunch of principal cast members returning (those who survived last season):
- Emma D’Arcy - Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen
- Rhys Ifans - Otto Hightower, Hand of the King
- Olivia Cooke - Alicent Hightower
- Matt Smith - Prince Daemon Targaryen, brother of Viserys Targaryen
- Tom Glynn-Carney - King Aegon Targaryen II
- Ewan Mitchell - Aemond Targaryen
- Steve Toussaint - Corlys Velaryon
- Eve Best - Rhaenys Targaryen
- Sonoyo Mizuno - Mysaria, the White Worm
There are many more cast members that we would expect to return, in small and large parts, based on the fact that a character in Game of Thrones can never quite be discounted even when they're off-screen for long periods.
House of the Dragon Season 2: Story
The first season of House of the Dragon ended with bloodshed, as Aemond Targaryen exacted his revenge on Rhaenyra's son Lucerys, snapping his dragon up out of the sky and killing the young prince.
Based on Rhaenyra's storm-faced reaction in the final moments of the season, this should be the spark that lights the fuse and plunges Westeros into full-on war.
This kicks off what's known in the (made-up) history books as the Dance of Dragons, and will see Rhaenyra and Daemon facing off against Allicent Hightower and her son Aegon, who sits on the throne in Kings Landing.
With the ailing Viserys finally dead, we're in a serious succession struggle that promises to get devious and bloody on both sides, with the great houses of the Seven Kingdoms lining up to choose their side.
Because the source material is out there, you can very much look up the broad strokes of what's going to happen as the show unfolds, but we think it might be a better idea to stay in the dark and let yourself enjoy it as it comes.