‘House of the Dragon’ Ending With Season 4

Dan Clarendon January 31, 2026, 1:39 pm

Olivia Cooke as Alicent in 'House of the Dragon' Season 2 Episode 7 — Theo Whitman/HBO

What To Know

HBO has confirmed that House of the Dragon will conclude with its fourth season, aligning with the show’s original vision to chronicle the Targaryen family’s history.
Showrunner Ryan Condal is leading the series with less involvement from George R.R. Martin, following creative disagreements and Martin’s focus on other projects.
HBO executives remain highly supportive of Condal’s creative direction, praising the show’s success and strong reception across its first three seasons.

We’ve reached the halfway point of House of the Dragon. The Game of Thrones spinoff, which returns for Season 3 this year, will indeed end with Season 4.

Casey Bloys, the chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max content, confirmed the four-season intention in a new interview with Deadline.

“Yes, that is the idea,” he said. “The idea has always been to follow the history of the Targaryens. If you know the books, you know how the Targaryens end up. So there is a natural end to this particular history of that House of the Targaryens.”

Ryan Condal, the showrunner and co-creator of House of the Dragon, told Deadline in August 2024 that he envisioned a four-season run for the fantasy series.

Bloys also said that he’s “thrilled” by the creative decisions behind the forthcoming Season 3. “[By the way], I’ve been thrilled by all three seasons,” he added, pointing out the House of the Dragon’s high Rotten Tomatoes scores. “This has been a very successful show for us. So, again, I will say I’m thrilled with what Ryan has done. He’s been a great collaborator with us.”

Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen and Emma D'Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen in the 'House of the Dragon' Season 2 finale - 'The Queen Who Ever Was'

Ollie Upton/HBO

But Bloys couldn’t say whether Season 4 would be supersized. “Ryan is working, like any show like this; he is finishing [post-production] on Season 3 and working with the writers on what Season 4 looks like,” the exec explained. “I don’t know where he’s landed on the episode count yet.”

But Condal is working on House of the Dragon with less input from George R.R. Martin, his fellow co-creator, who wrote the Fire & Blood and A Song of Ice and Fire novels on which the TV series is based.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Martin said he and Condal had an “abysmal” relationship and claimed Condal “basically stopped listening” to him in Season 2.

And THR reported that HBO asked Martin to step back from House of the Dragon after a contentious Zoom call between him, Condal, and executives regarding Season 3 plans. But the outlet also reported Martin was brought back aboard a few months later.

Targaryen Family Tree: Every Generation From the 'Game of Thrones' Universe

In the new Deadline interview, Bloys said Martin “definitely took a step back” from House of the Dragon and has “definitely been focusing on [A] Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” the second Game of Thrones spinoff, which adapts Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas.

“Like any good American family, I would prefer that our dysfunction stays behind closed doors,” Bloys said. “What I would say is George introduced us to Ryan as the person that he thought would be the best to create House of the Dragon. And I will say Ryan has been an excellent showrunner and a really great partner and collaborator, so we embrace his vision and his creative choices, or we wouldn’t have done it. … Two artists are not always going to agree. So, some of this comes with the territory.”

Seasons 1 and 2 of House of the Dragon, streaming on HBO Max