New Game of Thrones series ‘House of the Dragon’ officially in production

Karma Oak

It's been two years since HBO's Game of Thrones sputtered out its series finale and there are now a number of new series in the works. The first of those to get a full series order, House of the Dragons, is now officially in production. Based on GoT creator George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood, the series will "tell the story of House Targaryen (a.k.a. the House that gave us the Mother of Dragons herself, Daenerys Targaryen) and take place 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones."

The series stars Paddy Considine (Peaky Blinders, 24 Hour Party People) as "Mad" King Viserys Targaryen, Matt Smith (Dr Who, The Crown) as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Emma D’Arcy (Hanna, Truth Seekers) as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, and Olivia Cooke (Sound of Metal, Ready Player One) as Alicent Hightower, who is the daughter of the Hand of the King (former Super Furry Animals member Rhys Ifans). House of the Dragon is co-created by Martin and Ryan Condal (Colony, Hercules), and they will be showrunners, along with Miguel Sapochnik, who directed a some of Game of Thrones' most action-heavy episodes (including "Battle of the Bastards" and "Hardhome").

While the show won't air until sometime next year, HBO started the hype train today by sharing photos from the first table read which looked to be a very socially distant event with the cast and producers spread out at individual tables in a big, sterile-looking room. Check out photos below.

House of the Dragon is one of six (!) Game of Thrones spinoffs in the works, with the others being a series based on Martin's more lighthearted "Dunk and Egg" books about two hedge knights, as well as the "Nymeria project" (about the warrior queen who founded the kingdom of Dorne), "The Sea Snake" (about Lord Corlys Velaryon, aka The Sea Snake, the Lord of the Tides and head of House Velaryon), "Flea Bottom" (about the slums of Kings Landing), and an animated series. As they say, stay tuned.

Meanwhile, George RR Martin still hasn't finished The Winds of Winter, the penultimate book in his A Song of Ice and Fire saga that Game of Thrones is based on. But he is working on a GoT musical, so there's that.