Posted in: HBO, Max, TV | Tagged: house of the dragon

House of the Dragon: Bloys Confirms Season 4 End; GRRM/Condal Issues

HBO/HBO Max's Casey Bloys confirmed that House of the Dragon is ending with Season 4 and addressed George RR Martin/Ryan Condal tension.

When it comes to HBO and Showrunner Ryan Condal's House of the Dragon, there have been two topics competing for headlines over the past few weeks. First, there was Condal confirming on a podcast that the fourth season would be the "Game of Thrones" prequel's final run. Following that, "Game of Thrones" universe creator George RR Martin gave an interview to The Hollywood Reporter that didn't paint a rosy relationship between Martin and Condal. During an interview with Deadline Hollywood that went live earlier today, Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max Content, offered insights into both issues.

"Yes, that is the idea," Bloys responded when asked if Condal's comments were true. "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." As for what that final season could look like (episode count, supersized episodes, etc.), Bloys shared that it was still too early to make that call. "Ryan [Condal] 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," he added.

As for the tension between Martin and Condal, Bloys noted that he "would prefer that our dysfunction stays behind closed doors. But here we are." In defense of Condal, Bloys noted, "What I would say is George introduced us to Ryan as the person that he thought would be the best to create 'House the Dragon.' And I will say Ryan has been an excellent showrunner and a really great partner and collaborator, so we embrace his vision and his creative choices, or we wouldn't have done it." That said, Bloys notes that Martin has been a "great partner," and continues to be. "I consider it great to have George as the architect of this world. I mean, think about what he has created, the world, the families, the battles, all of the history, it's pretty extraordinary. George is a great partner for us to have. The idea that he is going to agree with every creator or showrunner that is either developing or producing, two artists are not always going to agree. So, some of this comes with the territory."

Regarding the level of Martin's involvement in the third season, Bloys said that Martin "definitely took a step back," while adding that Martin's focus on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was a significant reason for that. "He definitely took a step back," Bloys shared. "And I would say he's definitely been focusing on Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. And I will tell you one of the reasons why [head of drama] Frannie [Orsi] and I really thought about the 'Knight of Seven Kingdoms' as an interesting adaptation is, we had always heard and know that it was George's favorite, that was meaningful to us."

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