Back in Westeros sooner than expected? Gladly, it seems so!

Matt Smith, who stars as Damon Targaryen in the hit HBO series, brings us an update on the January release of "House of Dragons" Season 2 He told the BBC podcast "The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show" that the Emmy Award-winning fantasy series will return for a second season this summer, specifically in August 2024

But it looks like "HOTD" will catch up with Daemon and the rest of the Targaryen dynasty a few months earlier than that, in an interview at Morgan Stanley's Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on Monday, March 4, Warner Bros Discovery Streaming & Games division chief JB Perrett revealed that the show will in fact return in June 2024, according to Variety

Perrette did not reveal a specific premiere date for the show's second season, but the updated start date coincides with the "early summer 2024" release date mentioned by HBO boss Casey Bloys at a press event this past November

The second season of the "Game of Thrones" prequel series, set approximately 200 years before the events of the flagship show and centered on the struggle for succession of the Targaryen family during its heyday, was approved by the network shortly after the premiere of season one, which aired on August 21, 2022

The show was broadcast in the United States on August 21, 2022

It further delves into the "Dance of Dragons" succession war between Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma Darcy) and her half-brother Aegon II (Tom Glyn-Carney) over the throne of her father Viserys I There are some differences from the previous season, however: the three "House of Dragons" actors will not return for Season 2, and there may be more positive changes to Lenila's storyline this time around

A little over a year after Season 1 ended (the finale, "The Black Queen," aired on October 23, 2022), "House of Dragons" viewers got a sneak peak of the second season, scheduled for November 2023 The minute-long teaser trailer shows the growing conflict between Rainira Targaryen (Emma Darcy) and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), Aegon II's mother and Rainira's old friend

"There is no war more hateful to the gods than a war between kin," says Rainila in the video To which her aunt, Lenis Targaryen, played by Eve Best, replies, "And there is no war more bloody than the war between dragons" (Of course, the teaser features plenty of fire-breathing dragons)

Tom's Guide will keep you posted as soon as the exact premiere date for "House of Dragons" Season 2 is officially announced, but the return of this hit fantasy series two months earlier than expected, TV fans will no doubt be excited Until then, you can catch up on news of various "Game of Thrones" spin-off series, including the "Dunk and Eggs" prequel and the "Aegon the Conqueror" series You can also revisit the show's first season with a Max subscription before the new episodes of season two are released