HBO’s upcoming Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon is set to be an expensive series for the company.
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According to a recent report from Variety, House of the Dragon will cost “under $20 million” per episode to produce its 10-episode first season. For comparison, Game of Thrones cost HBO around $100 million per season, with the eighth and final season costing $15 million per episode to produce.
The reason for House of the Dragon not requiring much more than its predecessor simply boils down to HBO now knowing what it takes to create these types of fantastical worlds. The report notes that HBO having knowledge from not only working on Game of Thrones, but also series’ like Westworld and His Dark Materials, have made it much easier for them create high-quality series more efficiently and for less money.
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Based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon chronicles the rise and the downfall of the Targaryens, who are the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria. It will take place 300 years before the events of the award-winning series adaptation of Game of Thrones which aired its final episode nearly two years ago.
The 10-episode series will be led by Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, and Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. It will also feature Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Sonoya Mizuno, Milly Alcock, Emily Carey, Graham McTavish, Ryan Corr, Jefferson Hall, David Horovitch, Matthew Needham, Bill Patterson, Gavin Spokes, Wil Johnson, John Macmillan, Savannah Steyn, and Theo Nate.
House of the Dragon hails from George R.R. Martin, Ryan Condal, and Game of Thrones director Miguel Sapochnik, with Condal and Sapochnik also attached to serve as showrunners. Executive producers are. Executive producers are Martin, Sapochnik, Condal, Vince Gerardis, and Sara Lee Hess.