'House of the Dragon' Release Date and Time — Here's Exactly When It Comes Out
HBO's House of the Dragon premieres tonight, Sunday, Aug. 21, at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max. You will be able to stream the episode on HBO Max afterward if you decide not to watch it during the big premiere. Read on for a bit more information on the release of this highly-anticipated Game of Thrones spinoff.
House of the Dragon is the first "successor series" to Game of Thrones that HBO greenlit. It is a prequel set about 200 years before the events of the main series, but it does not impact the main continuity directly for the most part. House of the Dragon is about House Targaryen's rule over Westeros, starting with its high point and extending into one of its darkest chapters.
Fans have been dying to see this show since it was first announced back in 2019. HBO ordered it straight to series, granting it 10 episodes just like the early seasons of Game of Thrones. However, the show had been in the works for much longer than that. The show is based on material from George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood – an imaginary history book tracing about 130 years' worth of Targaryen rule in Westeros.
According to a report by Deadline, House of the Dragon built on some ideas from another Game of Thrones spinoff that never moved forward – an untitled project by Game of Thrones writer Bryan Cogman. However, Cogman's show was not picked up by HBO and House of the Dragon comes from showrunners Ryan J. Condal and Miguel Sapochnik.
House of the Dragon was ordered in October of 2019 and began filming in the spring of 2021. The release date was announced back in March, and recently HBO confirmed that it will run for 10 consecutive weeks. That means that every Sunday from now until Oct. 23 there will be a new episode. The season finale will air on Oct. 23.
House of the Dragon was not the first Game of Thrones spinoff attempted at HBO, and it will most likely not be the last. The network has already considered and passed on at least two "successor shows" and it currently has at least four live-action shows in development. It also has three animated shows in development, but none of those seven have been ordered to series or even to the pilot stage.
For now, House of the Dragon is more than enough to hold die-hard fans over. The series premieres on Sunday, Aug. 21 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO Max. New episodes will air every Sunday through Oct. 23 at the same time. Once they've aired, episodes will be available to stream on HBO Max.