HBO and Sky TV's blockbuster epic returns in June - but this time I want blood
After a slow build-up, are we finally going to get what we want?
The Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon will return to screens in June 2026, with Season 3 streaming on HBO Max, and Sky Atlantic in the UK. It will hit screens on 21 June in the US and 22 June in the UK and the bad news is that it will be released weekly, so you won't be able to binge the whole thing in one go.
That will at least give the freshly-announced companion podcast breathing space, dissecting the eight episodes that will make up the run for this next instalment of House of the Dragon. Season 1 was 10 episodes, while Season 2 was 8 episodes.
And I know what you're thinking: is anything going to happen this time around?
When House of the Dragon returned to screens in 2022, it was warmly greeted by fans, following the (controversial) finale of Game of Thrones in 2019. Back in Westeros, House of the Dragon explores the rift in House Targaryen, centred around the succession.
Fans of George R.R. Martin's works already know who "wins", because that succession leads into Game of Thrones. What's perhaps more important about this dynastic story is how it sets up the downfall of the House Targaryen that leads us into Game of Thrones.
House of the Dragon got off to a strong start, with stars like Matt Smith, Emma D'Arcy, Olivia Cooke and Rhys Ifans, but it stumbled a lot along the way. The whole setup of House of the Dragon is the dynastic war between the Black and Green factions, massive destruction and the loss of basically all the dragons.
But what we got was hand-wringing about the inevitable conflict without actually getting there. At times, House of the Dragon has been ponderous, with what felt like a huge amount of time with Rhaenyra standing at the Painted Table, while the audience didn't get the battles that are so obviously being setup.
House of the Dragon will run to four seasons and we left Season 2 just on the precipice: the episode 8 build-up felt like it should seque straight into battle, but instead the credits roll. It's said that HBO cut the Season short, pushing that battle into Season 3, so I'm left hoping for a big opener - and an even bigger follow through.
It feels like it's time for House of the Dragon to really deliver. For fans, having invested plenty of time into the show already, Season 3 needs to give us what we want - and that's a complete unravelling of House Targaryen, Westeros set alight, devastating betrayal and a lots and lots of blood.
After all, what we've had so far is mostly posturing.
