Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week.
A recent study by Ampere Analysis found that the wait between seasons of TV shows on streaming — especially sci-fi and fantasy series — has increased from an average of 10 months in 2016 to an average of 21 months in 2024 and 2025.
Viewers may feel that acutely when they tune in to watch the third season of “Game of Thrones” prequel “House of the Dragon” (9 p.m. June 21, HBO, HBO Max), which hasn’t released a new episode since August 2024.
Absence may make the heart grow fonder, but it also makes the memory hazy, at least for this viewer.
Sitting down to watch screeners of the first two episodes of “House of the Dragon” season three earlier this month, it was difficult to remember where we are in the story and which characters are on which side of the conflict. Even some character names were lost to the sands of time (new nicknames conjured as placeholders include Dollar Store Chalamet and Sassy Blond Pirate Woman).
One thing I do recall from season two was a lot of fan dissatisfaction over the lack of an enormous battle. That gets rectified immediately in season three as “HOTD” depicts the Battle of the Gullet, which largely takes place on the sea as dragons rain terror from the skies above. Clearly an enormous production undertaking, it’s an impressive series of set pieces that demand viewers’ attention.
House Velaryon, led by the Sea Snake (Steve Toussaint), sides with Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and her Team Black, maintaining a naval blockade that cuts off supplies and trade to King’s Landing, home of King Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) and his mother, Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) of Team Green. Alicent is calling the shots in Aegon’s absence after he was burned and fled the city with Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) at the end of season two.
After settling back into the show’s world, who’s allied with whom begins to come into focus and the action proves exciting enough to pull viewers through even if they can’t remember a character’s name and opt to call her Susan Collins because she looks perpetually “deeply concerned.” (Turns out that was Alicent, but it could also apply to Nettles.)
It is absolutely recommended to watch a 15-minute HBO-created recap of seasons one and two before attempting to watch season three. Find it at youtube.com/watch?v=mVTUYGZM4UY.
Through four episodes (of eight) made available for review, “House of the Dragon” does not dawdle. The plot advances with speed both through dramatic action sequences and in quieter, more character-driven moments as Queen Rhaenyra leans into the notion that her destiny is to rule. She’s more zealous and seemingly entitled than we’ve seen her in the past.
“I must justify my father’s faith in me,” Rhaenyra says even as the weight of those expectations grows heavier. She soon learns that with more power comes more headaches.
In a virtual press conference earlier this month, “HOTD” showrunner Ryan Condal, who wrote Sunday’s season premiere, described the show as a Shakespearean family tragedy set in Westeros.
“The mood of the show probably changes a little bit in season three as things get darker and a bit bleaker,” Condal said. “There are fits and starts through season one and season two where you think, well, maybe there’s a chance that they will lay down arms and maybe find a different way to sort things out. But as more and more slights are leveled and more and more loss is experienced on both sides, there is this tit-for-tat brinksmanship that comes into play where people forget what the first slight was.”
Condal described the Battle of the Gullet as the midpoint of the story — the series is expected to end with its fourth season in 2028 — but it won’t be the only spectacle in season three.
“It’s going to put people back on their heels in a good way because it just comes out so heavy and unexpectedly,” Condal said of the Battle of the Gullet. “But it also sets the tone for where we’re going with the season. We’re not spending our entire budget on the first episode, even though it might feel that way. There is lots of escalation coming from here.”
As for the wait between seasons, Condal makes no excuses.
“This is a four-season show. You have to wait two years in between each chapter, but ultimately this is one story we’re telling,” Condal said. “To get upset about something midway is to react in the middle of a play that you don’t like the turn that the story took in the middle. Well, wait, because there’s a whole other two acts coming. … I get the frustration. It just takes a long [time] to make the show. Prep and shooting of the show — and this is after scripts are written — takes a year, and then it takes seven months, eight months to make dragons [in CGI]. So, do the math. It’s not possible to come out every year. I’m very sorry, but you guys decided to be fans of the show called ‘House of the Dragon.’”