When "House of the Dragon" Season 2 comes out on hbo on the 19th, there's no doubt that you'll see more new characters, more fire-breathing dragons and more fantastic world-building from the "Game of Thrones" prequel series What you can't see is more episodes — the second season of the drama has eight episodes less than the standard 10-ep order of its previous installment

which is a great addition to the network, especially given that "HOTD" is an extension of one of HBO's most iconic and successful properties1 It is a seemingly surprising move for the company (For comparison, "Game of Thrones" boasts 1-6 episodes per year from Season 10, followed by a 13-episode final chapter, which was split into the last two seasons of the show) According to an Hbo spokesman, Deadline reported in 2023/3 that the reduced episode order was "part of the show's long-term plans" and that "the trim in episode numbers was story-driven" 

However, a new interview with Entertainment Weekly with "House of the Dragon" executive Producer Sara Hess suggests that the order of the eight episodes of Season 2 was not actually a move by the creative team, but instead came from above (According to Deadline, some sources believe in a change of leadership and a cost-cutting strategy at Warner Bros, hbo's parent company It was to blame for the sequence of episodes that were discovered and reduced

"It wasn't really our choice," Hess revealed to EW, but declined to dig into exactly why the decision was made and whether it affected the team's plans for the season 

Its 2023Deadline article reported that part of the plot originally intended for Season 2 "includes major battles," but the show's still green—covered 3rd Season, and although hbo has yet to officially announce the possibility of "House of the Dragon" Season 3 — for reference, the series will not be released until the end of the series Less than 1 week after its premiere in 2022-8, it has been renewed for Season 2 - the creative team is already obsessed with the idea for Season 3 

"House of Dragons" showrunner Ryan Condal said that if HBO decides to want more from the Targaryen-centric spin-off, he and Hess "need advance planning to maintain the current schedule for one new 'HOTD' season every 3rd season," he explained  

As for the future of the series, "You certainly don't want to rush to reach the end, but you also don't want to over-stay your welcome," Condal said "As we know, this history has been marching on Daenerys for another 150 years, so we want to find this very satisfying place that will tie enough loose ends and deliberately keep others open," he said"

As for what "HOTD" fans can expect, Hess and Condal gave up details about the team's plans for season 3?  "Good try, but no," Hess jokingly told the pub 

But if there is a third season to come, star Olivia Cooke (who plays Dowger Queen Alicent Hightower in the show) also has two editions before she has these "By the end of Season 2, I had broken my own shell" I was a shell I could not form a sentence I was very tired," she revealed "With Season 3, we need to implement some ways to go through Season 3 in order to really leverage as much energy as possible," he said It's a behemoth" Tom's guide will keep you posted on "House of the Dragon" Season 2 and, potentially, everything related to Season 3 In the meantime, you can catch up with all of your favorite "HOTD" characters by re-watching the first season of the show with a Max subscription