Game of Thrones nerds rejoice, because the official prequel series is about to drop. Presumably it’ll be landing on the wings of a great, scaly beast because the show’s called House of the Dragon.
It follows the Targaryen clan back when they ruled the Iron Throne, AKA many many years before Game of Thrones was set.
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Alas, there probably won’t be any cameos from Daenerys Targaryen but the show looks bloody excellent regardless. Whip out your best icy blonde wig and read on for all the tea about House of the Dragon, including cast, release date and plot. You know, all the good stuff!
What is House of the Dragon about?
As I mentioned before, the new show focuses on House Targaryen and their downfall. If you remember Game of Thrones, Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) was the last surviving member of House Targaryen. Or so she thought…
House of the Dragon takes us around 200 years before Game of Thrones is set. It focuses on the lead up to the Dance of the Dragons: a very fancy name for the war of succession in the family.
Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) is on the throne and makes a controversial choice while naming an heir. Cue: drama.
The show is also based on George R.R. Martin’s book Fire and Blood which was published back in 2018, if ya fancy some light reading.
Is there a trailer for House of the Dragon?
A teaser trailer was released all the way back in October 2021.
The full trailer dropped in late July this year and hooboy, it looks like a doozy. Dragons? Yes. Swords? Yes. Familial conflict? Yes. All the things I want from a historical fantasy show.
Will there be dragons?
Yes, there are dragons! The Targaryens are renowned for being one of the very few families with the ability to ride dragons. I mean, it wouldn’t be a Game of Thrones prequel without dragons.
Members of the House of Targaryen have special bonds with different dragons. Cute! And also God I wish that were me.
According to TV Line, the show will feature 17 dragons — the perfect number of scaly friends if you ask me.
Series co-creator-slash-showrunner Ryan Condal told the publication that each of the dragons would have its own aesthetic and personality. I simply cannot wait to see a “star signs as each of the House of the Dragon dragons” meme. Have it on my desk by 9am.
“We really tried to imbue them with an individual personality that you can start to detect,” he said.
Forget the human drama: I’m all in for the dragons.
Who’s starring as the Targaryen family and their friends-slash-foes?
As previously mentioned, Paddy Considine is starring as Viserys Targaryen. He has a daughter called Rhaenyra who’s played by non-binary British actor Emma D’Arcy. You might recognise them from TV shows Truth Seekers and Wanderlust or the film Misbehaviour.
Rhaenyra is a dragonrider and therefore already my fave character.
Doctor Who himself Matt Smith is Viserys’s younger brother Daemon. My 2014 Tumblr self is rooting for him. On his side is Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno), a dancer and sex worker who becomes his number one ally.
Then there’s Rhaenys (Eve Best) — who potentially should’ve held the Iron Throne instead of Viserys. She’s married to Lord Corlys Valaryon (Steve Toussaint), also known as the Sea Snake. Cool nickname.
We also have the Hand of the King Otto Hightower. He’s played by Rhys Ifans. Yup, Luna Lovegood’s dad and the Lizard from Spider-Man! I’m already thrilled for this. He has a daughter called Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) who was chlidhood besties with Rhaenyra.
Then we have sexy Dornish swordsman Ser Criston Cole played by Fabien Frankel.
There’s also a slew of actors playing the characters as their younger selves, including Aussie actress Milly Alcock as Rhaenyra and Emily Carey as Alicent.
How can I watch House of the Dragon in Australia?
House of the Dragon is an HBO Max show so it’ll be available to watch here on Binge and on Foxtel. The first episode drops on Monday August 22 and episodes will be released weekly.
Get your popcorn ready in advance!
