House of the Dragon Showrunner Ryan Condal Discusses Miguel Sapochnik’s Exit

House of the Dragon has been a tremendous success for HBO through six episodes. The series had a monumental task of reviving the Game of Thrones franchise after the final season aired in 2019, and it’s been successful so far. 10 million viewers tuned in for the premiere on Aug. 31, and the show continues to break records as the first season releases its weekly episodes.

Unfortunately, the co-showrunner of House of the Dragon, Miguel Sapochnik, announced his exit earlier this month after working on the first season. This could be seen as a devastating move for fans, as Sapochnik was heavily involved with Game of Thrones, directing some of the most iconic episodes in the series. However, the now lone-showrunner, Ryan Condal, reveals to Variety that he’s been aware of his departure for some time.

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“We had a conversation in the summer — right around when the show premiered. I knew it was something that he was wrestling with. He doesn’t have anything left to prove in Westeros, I don’t think. He’s shot every kind of battle: good and evil, light and dark, fantasy and not fantasy, dragon and no dragon. He’s said what he has to say in Westeros. I knew that it was always a possibility that he was going to do one season, get this thing on its feet [and] be proud of having a hand in the actual creation of a ‘Game of Thrones’ story. It was lingering in the back of my mind, knowing how much is involved with doing another season of the show, would he want to get up on the horse again? I was really bummed. He’s tremendously talented. And I’m really proud of the work that we did. But I’m excited to see what he’s got in store now.”

Sapochnik was a Game of Thrones veteran, directing episodes such as The Gift, Hardhome, Battle of the Bastards, The Winds of Winter, and The Long Night. He used his directorial skills on House of the Dragon as well, helming three episodes in the first season with The Heirs of the Dragon, The Princess and the Queen, and Driftmark. But, of course, Sapochnik could always return to direct future episodes of House of the Dragon, likely after the first season’s fatigue wears off.

Ryan Condal is Now the Sole Showrunner

HBO

Managing a show with 17 different dragons and nine introduced in the first season is a tall order. Now, Ryan Condal will be doing it alone. He tells Variety he understands the daunting task but is ready for the challenge of being a leader.

“[Deep exhale.] It’s a lot. It’s one of those things where, like, I’ve heard presidents say that they always have more trepidation about their second term than their first because they know the job they’re going into,” Condal explains. “I definitely am not comparing this job to the presidency at all. But it’s lonely at the top, and now I find myself alone at the top.”

House of the Dragon is the biggest project to date for Condal, who served as executive producer and writer for a few feature films and television shows, including Rampage and Colony.

Related: House of the Dragon Showrunners Say the ‘Slow Burn’ of Season 1 Will Be Worth It

“Thankfully, I have a wonderful team around me. I’m excited for the story that we’re going to tell in Season 2. There are thousands of people that go into the making of this.” Condal continues, “It’s on me to be a great leader and try to inspire people, hopefully with some good writing, to get the very best work out of them and make another great season of the show.”

Fans can check out the first season of House of the Dragon, currently airing on HBO and HBO Max every Sunday at 9 pm E.T. Audiences hope to see a consistent form of storytelling and success when the second season eventually arrives, which Condal confirms has been in the writing stage for the past few months. So expect to see Season 2 soar onto the streaming service sometime in 2024 at the earliest.

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