‘House Of The Dragon’ Is Saying Goodbye To A Showrunner, Two Weeks After The Series Premiered As A Roaring Hit

HBO’s House of the Dragon delivered the Game of Thrones–worthy goods (read: icky goods) in its second week, which scored even higher ratings than the premiere that crashed HBO Max for countless viewers. The prequel looks to have drummed up more interest than anyone could have realistically hoped for, considering how many Game of Thrones fans felt salty following Season 8, including the series finale. Yet with all of this success, the show’s still seeing a shakeup on the showrunner front, which is surprising news, to say the least.

Miguel Sapochnik, who directed the spinoff’s pilot (as well as multiple Game of Thrones episodes, including “Battle of the Bastards”), is stepping down as co-showrunner. Ryan Condal will now step into sole showrunner shoes, and Sapochnik will move onto some different HBO projects. It’s a little bit fuzzy, but here’s the nebulous news from Variety:

Sapochnik will continue to be credited as an executive producer on the hit prequel series, but his fellow co-showrunner Ryan Condal will now be the sole showrunner. In addition, Sapochnik has entered into a first-look deal with HBO to develop new projects with the premium cabler.

In addition, the prequel has a new executive producer, Alan Taylor, who also worked on Game of Thrones. There’s no explicitly laid out reason why this shakeup has occurred, but Sapochnik issued a statement to Variety, to which he declared, “I am so proud of what we accomplished with Season One and overjoyed by the enthusiastic reaction of our viewers. It was incredibly tough to decide to move on, but I know that it is the right choice for me, personally and professionally.” Sapochnik also stressed that “I believe this precious series could not be in safer hands.” Currently, House of the Dragon has already been renewed for Season 2, so the dragons shall continue roaring.