House of the Dragon Showrunner Confirms Show Will Go Beyond Season 2, Addresses Ending

House of the Dragon is another mega-hit series for HBO and the Season 1 finale episode was the biggest for the network since the Game of Thrones finale. Naturally, as the buzz about House of the Dragon reaches an all-time high, fans are already wondering about Season 2 – and beyond. The cast and crew of Hosue of the Dragon are now out and doing post-season interviews, and showrunner Ryan Condal had to address the question how many seasons House of the Dragon could last on the air – and where it could finally end. 

House of the Dragon maintains a tricky balance. It is drawing upon details of some of the most popular lore in Game of Thornes history, yet it is trying to present those events as compelling and surprising television drama. Fans of author George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series have long studied the history of House Targaryen, and know exactly what kind of timeline constraints come with this story. For instance: the big civil war called "The Dance of the Dragons" that kicked off in House of the Dragon Episode 10 only lasts two years in the Game of Thrones timeline – so how long can the show keep going?

How Many Seasons Will House of the Dragon Get?

As Ryan Condal explained to THR, he's not so much worried how long they can keep things going as he is pulling off the demanding story beats right in front of them. That said, Condal does confirm that House of the Dragon will last long than just Season 2: 

"I'm very focused on the 10 episodes in front of me at the moment. There's definitely more storytelling to come after season two."

Could House of the Dragon Become An Anthology Series?

As Condal sees it, House of the Dragon is a show that's all about the history of the Targaryen Dynasty. With nearly two centuries between the lives of Princess Rhaenyra and Daenerys Targaryen, that's a lot of historical space to play with.

"This is the story of a Targaryen dynasty that marches on for 150 years after the events in the season one finale. Kings and queens come and go as the history marches on. So the question is less where this story ends and more where does the curtain fall [on the show]. Because it's an ongoing history being written George as we go," Condal explains. 

"It's not like The Song of Ice and Fire books where the end is the end of the story. This is the end of a chapter in the story, and then another chapter begins. So 'I don't know yet' is the honest answer. But we will take the time that we need to tell this story and when it dramatically needs to come to an end, it will come to an end."

There are indeed eras of the Targaryen Dynasty worth exploring after The Dance of the Dragons. However, doing so would effectively make House of the Dragon into an anthology series about different eras of the family, rather than a serialized show. We've already seen what kind of time jumps they did just to get to Dance of the Dragons... 

House of the Dragon is streaming on HBO Max.