The first season of the American fantasy drama television series House of the Dragon premiered on HBO on August 21, 2022, in the United States and concluded on October 23, 2022. It consists of ten episodes, each of approximately one hour. The series is based on Fire & Blood, a prequel novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin, adapted for television by Ryan Condal and Martin. Following the conclusion of its predecessor series Game of Thrones, in October 2019, HBO ordered the first season, which began filming in April 2021, primarily in the United Kingdom, Spain, and Por
The first season of the American fantasy drama television series House of the Dragon premiered on HBO on August 21, 2022, in the United States and concluded on October 23, 2022. It consists of ten episodes, each of approximately one hour. The series is based on Fire & Blood, a prequel novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin, adapted for television by Ryan Condal and Martin. Following the conclusion of its predecessor series Game of Thrones, in October 2019, HBO ordered the first season, which began filming in April 2021, primarily in the United Kingdom, Spain, and Por
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The first season of the American fantasy drama television series House of the Dragon premiered on HBO on August 21, 2022, in the United States and concluded on October 23, 2022. It consists of ten episodes, each of approximately one hour. The series is based on Fire & Blood, a prequel novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin, adapted for television by Ryan Condal and Martin. Following the conclusion of its predecessor series Game of Thrones, in October 2019, HBO ordered the first season, which began filming in April 2021, primarily in the United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal.
The story takes place upon the continent of Westeros, set nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. The season follows the rise of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen to the throne after her father King Viserys I Targaryen chooses her as his heir. However, Viserys' decision breaks an inheritance principle and a century tradition of only naming male heirs, which leads to a turmoil that slowly starts to divide the House Targaryen, while Rhaenyra struggles with the responsibilities of being the heiress of the Iron Throne. As the tensions between the Targaryens grow, the Hand of the King Otto Hightower conspires to usurp Rhaenyra as the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, by having his daughter Alicent Hightower married to Viserys, who fathers the Prince Aegon II Targaryen.
House of the Dragon features a large ensemble cast, including established actors such as Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Sonoya Mizuno, and Graham McTavish. Newer actors were cast as the younger generation of characters, such as Emma D'Arcy, Milly Alcock, Emily Carey, and Fabien Frankel. Critics praised the character development, visual effects, writing, Ramin Djawadi's score, and performances; Smith's and D'arcy's performances as Daemon Targaryen and Rhaenyra respectively, received multiple accolades. However, the pacing, specifically of the time jumps, and the dark lighting of some scenes were criticized. The first season won one of the nine Emmy Awards for which it was nominated, with one of the nominees being for Outstanding Drama Series. Over 10 million viewers watched the series premiere across the linear channels and HBO Max on the first day, the biggest audience in HBO's history. A second season was ordered in August 2022.
Development
In 2015, with Game of Thrones still in production, HBO executives approached A Song of Ice and Fire writer George R. R. Martin regarding possible successors or spin-offs to the series. In November 2018, Martin stated that a "potential spin-off series would be solidly based on material in Fire & Blood." Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss stated they wanted to "move on" from the franchise and declined involvement in subsequent projects. By September 2019, a Game of Thrones prequel series from Martin and Ryan Condal that "tracks the beginning of the end for House Targaryen" was close to receiving a pilot order from HBO. The following month, House of the Dragon was given a straight-to-series order. Condal and Miguel Sapochnik, who won an Emmy Award for directing the episode "Battle of the Bastards", were selected to serve as showrunners. A second season was ordered in August 2022.
Casting
Casting for the first season began in July 2020. In October 2020, Paddy Considine was cast as Viserys I Targaryen. Considine was offered a role in Game of Thrones but declined due to the fantasy elements of the series. Condal in a 2020 interview stated that Considine was their first choice for Viserys. By December, Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith, and Emma D'Arcy were cast as Alicent Hightower, Daemon Targaryen, and Rhaenyra Targaryen, respectively. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Smith stated he was initially hesitant to star in a Game of Thrones prequel but accepted the role after learning of Considine's attachment to the project.
In February 2021, Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, and Sonoya Mizuno were added to the main cast. By April, Fabien Frankel joined the cast as Criston Cole. In May, Graham McTavish was spotted on set in full wardrobe. In July 2021, Emily Carey and Milly Alcock were added to the cast as younger counterparts of Alicent Hightower and Rhaenyra Targaryen, respectively. The time jump midway through the first season prompted the casting of multiple actors for the same role.
Filming
Principal photography on the ten-episode first season of the series began in April 2021. The series was filmed primarily in the United Kingdom. House of the Dragon was the first production to be shot at Warner Bros. Leavesden Studios' new virtual production stage. On July 18, 2021, a positive COVID-19 case forced the pausing of production for two days. The Spanish publication Hoy reported that House of the Dragon would be filmed in the Province of Cáceres in western Spain between October 11–21, 2021. The provincial capital of Cáceres along with the medieval town of Trujillo were used in scenes for King's Landing. From October 26–31, the series was filmed in Portugal at the Castle of Monsanto. The majority of season 1 was shot using Arri Alexa cameras; specifically Alexa 65s for the main camera and the Alexa Mini LFs as additional cameras.
Locations in Cornwall, England included St Michael's Mount, Holywell Beach and Kynance Cove. Other locations included Castleton, Derbyshire, in areas such as Cave Dale, Eldon Hill Quarry and the Market Place. Some scenes were shot in Aldershot, Hampshire. In February 2022, HBO confirmed that the first season of House of the Dragon had wrapped production. Visual effects for the series were produced in part by Pixomondo, who worked on Game of Thrones and received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Visual Effects. In October 2022, it was reported that the OSVP stage at Leavesden Studios, used in the series, was shutting down.
Music
It was announced in February 2021 that Ramin Djawadi would compose the series score. Djawadi and the showrunners opted to retain the original theme song, "Game of Thrones Theme", for House of the Drag
