George R.R. Martin announced on his blog that the recently announced Game of Thrones spinoff, House of the Dragon, has picked up some impressive writers. Wes Tooke, who wrote for Colony, and Claire Kiechel, who previously served on The OA and Watchmen, will take their talents to the new HBO series. Ti Mikkel also will be a writer on the show.
Martin spoke high praises on all three of the writers, adding that all of them have earned his and showrunner Ryan Condal’s “thanks.”
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“They sat with Ryan every day in a writer’s room at HBO for months, talking story, going over drafts, giving notes, correcting errors, catching inconsistencies, discussing character and plot, offering ideas and suggestions, filling in gaps, breaking down the episodes to come and drawing up a roadmap for the first season and all the seasons to follow. The House of the Dragon could never have been built without the help of Ti, Claire, and Wes, three terrific young storytellers.”
HBO made the announcement that House of the Dragon was ordered a straight-to-series on Oct. 29. There will be 10 episodes in the first season. The new story will focus on the Targaryen blood line and is based on Martin’s Fire and Blood novel. The series will take place 300 years before the flagship series.
“The Game of Thrones universe is so rich with stories,” Casey Bloys, president, HBO programming, said in a press release. “We look forward to exploring the origins of House Targaryen and the earlier days of Westeros along with Miguel, Ryan and George.”
No release date has been set for the show. It’s most likely that the series wouldn’t air at the earliest until 2021. Optimism for a late 2020 release still remains if the casting process moves quickly.
The news of House of the Dragon followed the word from HBO that none of their other prequel series involving Game of Thrones lore had been picked up. Martin shared on his blog that he was disappointed seeing that result, but remains hopeful that one day there will be multiple series’ centered on the world of Westeros airing.
“If television has room enough for multiple CSIs and CHICAGO shows… well, Westeros and Essos are a lot bigger, with thousands of years of history and enough tales and legends and characters for a dozen shows. Heartbreaking as it is to work for years on a pilot, to pour your blood and sweat and tears into it, and have it come to nought, it’s not at all uncommon,” he wrote.
