And so it begins!
HBO’sGame of Thrones spin-off series, House of the Dragon, has now finished its run - the first season is now out in the wild in its complete form.
Whether you’ve caught up, or are about to start, we’re here to help you get into the mood for the show, so here’s everything we know about it.
There are spoilers ahead though, so be careful.
House of the Dragon: What you need to know
The House of the Dragon is a HBO show on theHBO Max streaming service. It is based on some of the events from George RR Martin’s Game of Thrones universe, specifically his companion novel Fire and Blood. It’s separate from the A Song of Ice and Fire novel series, which is the basis for the original series.
Fire and Blood is instead set up as a history book on theGame of Thrones Universe.It specifically focuses on the 300-year rule of the Targaryen Kings, with a large portion dedicated to the history of the great Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons.
That civil war occurs in the aftermath of King Viserys Targaryen naming his eldest daughter Rhaenyra as heir to his throne, breaking Westeros' misogynistic rules of inheritance. Two years after naming his Rhaenyra his heir, the king takes a new bride, has a son, and dies still wanting his daughter to succeed him, which is where the game for the Iron Throne begins. However, both sides have dragons this time.
If you want to learn more about the Dance of the Dragons, HBO produced an animated short that’s included in the Histories and Lore section of the Game of Thrones’s fifth-season DVD. It’s narrated by Michelle Fairley, Pedro Pascal, and Mark Addy. (You can watch it above, via a third-party source on YouTube).
House of the Dragon: Release date
House of the Dragon premiered in the US on 28 June 2025, the UK a day later. The first season consists of 10 episodes and they appeared each Sunday/Monday respectively thereafter.
House of the Dragon: Where to stream
HBO’s House of the Dragon is available in the US on its own streaming service: HBO Max. It costs$14.99 a month for the premium, ad-free plan or $9.99a month for the ad-supported plan.
House of the Dragon is being shown in the UK, Ireland, Italy, and Germany by Sky. The Now streaming service also provides live and on demand access.
The entire first episode is available to watch on YouTube though after HBO made it available in celebration of The Rings of Power premiere on 2 September. You can watch it below in the US, orhere if you’re in the UK.
House of the Dragon: Trailers
The final pre-release trailer for House of the Dragon appeared just before the show’s premiere and it is titled Fire will Reign.
In July 2022, HBO dropped another trailer for its Game of Thrones prequel. You can watch it at the top of this page.
HBO also released a three-minute teaser that includes behind-the-scenes footage of the series as well as commentary from George RR Martin. You can watch that spectacle below.
And finally, HBO released the first trailer for its huge new show in early May 2022.
It looks at a range of Targaryen characters and the seeds of a succession battle, along with glimpses of other major houses including the Starks.
House of the Dragon: Cast and Crew
George RR Martin created the TV script with co-writer Ryan Condal. Condal is the co-showrunner alongside Miguel Sapochnik. They’re executive producers, as well. George RR Martin and Vince Gerardis will be billed as executive producers, too.
Sapochnik, who has experience directing six Game of Thrones episodes, including Hardhome, The Long Night, and The Battle of the Bastards, directed the pilot as well as additional episodes. House of the Dragon is Sapochnik’s first project as part of an overarching deal, where he is expected to develop and produce a range of content for both HBO and the HBO Max streaming service. He will, however, be stepping away from House of the Dragon from its second season onward.
Here’s some of the lead actors and the characters they play:
House of the Dragon: Are other shows in the works?
HBO is also developing aGame of Thronessequel series that will focus on the continued adventures of Jon Snow.
Read:Jon Snow ‘Game of Thrones’ sequel series: 5 wild things that could happen
Things are still in early stages, though actor Kit Harrington is in line to reprise his role from George R.R. Martin’s TV adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire if the sequel does go ahead.
Three years since the end of Game of Thrones, the unnamed Jon Snow sequel series would actually represent the second spinoff from HBO. Details surrounding this latest offshoot don’t yet appear to be fleshed out, with no members of the creative team rumoured at this point. Even the concept itself, however, is intriguing.
While House of the Dragon is a prequel focusing on the 300-year rule of the Targaryen family, a Jon Snow sequel would seemingly be set not too far past the ending of Game of Thrones. It could, therefore, feature plenty of the same surviving characters and revive any outstanding plot lines left hanging in the air after Jon Snow - spoiler alert - was sent back to the Night’s Watch for killing Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke).
As we say, there’s no timeline for when we can expect a Snow-led sequel to arrive.
