HBO helped revolutionize TV in many ways, but one of its most lasting contributions was popularizing the idea of short-ish seasons. Unlike network shows, which can still run some 25 exhausting episodes, premium and streaming shows tend to only run about 10. Who has time for more TV than that? But it looks like round two of one of their biggest new hits will go even shorter than that.
As per Deadline, when it returns for it second seasons, House of the Dragon, the first Game of Thrones spinoff out of the gate, won’t run 10 episodes, like its first. Instead it will only run eight. That’s two whole fewer hours viewers will get to spend with Daenerys Targaryen’s predictably messy ancestors.
What’s the reason for the slightly abbreviated season? Some have speculated that it’s part of Warner Bros. Discovery’s cost-cutting measures and overall chaos under new-ish head David Zaslav. Sources close to the production, though, claim it’s more story-driven. Maybe for Season 2 they don’t need to stretch things out to 10 or so hours. Besides, they’re already working on Season 3.
Production on the next Dragon season is set to start soon in the U.K. and it won’t premiere until some time in 2024. That’s a year or so (or less!) to prepare for a smidgeon less Targaryen action.
(Via Deadline)