House of the Dragon Might Just Stick Around for More than 4 Seasons
At least, according to George RR Martin.
The novel Fire & Blood, on which the TV series is based, covers around 150 years of Targaryen history – culminating in the Dance of the Dragons. In a blog post last October, author George RR Martin said it would 'take four full seasons of 10 episodes each to do justice to the Dance of the Dragons, from start to finish'.
In the same post, he addressed the time jumps from season 1, saying it would have needed 13 episodes to tell the story without them.
Season 2, which hasn't been affected by the WGA strike, is currently being filmed and will only contain 8 episodes. So, if Max (formerly HBO) goes with what Martin says they will need to either make more than 4 seasons or extend at least one to more than 10 episodes.
Given that no season of Game of Thrones went beyond 10 episodes, it seems unlikely that HotD will stretch beyond that number. Which should give us a minimum of 5 seasons.
Recent comments from network executive Francesca Orsi back this up. She told Deadline, 'I don't think from where I sit at this point (it) will be any less than four' adding that it 'could be more'.
As yet, season 3 hasn't even been given the go-ahead – but that seems to be little more than a formality. Of course, there won't be any real movement on that until there is a resolution to the ongoing writer's strike. But it seems inconceivable that season 3 won't get the greenlight bearing in mind the success of the franchise as a whole - and the speed with which season 2 was approved after the first debuted.
While Orsi's comments don't guarantee that the show will extend beyond four seasons, they do indicate that there is potential for that to happen. Presently, the length of the potential third season, she says, is 'still under discussion', with Martin set to meet with (showrunner) Ryan Condal once the strike is over to 'figure out at what point the series itself (is) going to end'.
If Martin is in on the discussions about the length of the seasons and the way in which the story is told, it stands to reason that his idea that it will take a minimum of 40 episodes to do it justice will hold a fair amount of sway.
The network will also be keen not to allow HotD to follow the same path as GoT, with later seasons generally thought of as being rushed and inferior to the earlier ones. And it's not as if they won't be expecting HotD and other spin-offs to keep those dollars rolling in!
Source: NHot a blog, Deadline.