'I Would Prefer That Our Dysfunction Stays Behind Closed Doors' — HBO Boss Comments on George R.R. Martin's 'Abysmal' Relationship With House of the Dragon Showrunner

The brag of HBO has commented connected what went down betwixt Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin and House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal, aft Martin described their narration arsenic "worse than rocky" and "abysmal."

While Martin's displeasure with House of the Dragon's ongoing communicative improvement was thing new, a illustration portion published by The Hollywood Reporter revealed eye-opening caller item from Martin connected the breakdown of his narration with Condal — and the grade to which HBO executives had to negociate the brace down the scenes of the show's production.

Martin's unhappiness with Condal appears to person reached its zenith during a contentious Zoom telephone wherever the showrunner laid retired his imaginativeness for House of the Dragon's 3rd season. Martin said helium responded to Condal's program with galore objections, and yet stated: "This is not my communicative immoderate longer."

"I hired Ryan," Martin said, reflecting connected happier times. "I thought Ryan and I were partners. And we were each done the archetypal season. I would work aboriginal drafts of the scripts. I would springiness notes. He would alteration immoderate things. It was moving truly good — I thought."

The illustration portion noted an archetypal show of enactment by Martin for Condal towards the extremity of Season 1, erstwhile the second had a falling retired with his chap co-showrunner connected the series, Miguel Sapochnik. Martin says Condal asked for his support, which helium gave, and Sapochnik departed the amusement soon afterward.

"Then we got into Season 2, and helium fundamentally stopped listening to me," Martin continued, discussing however his narration with Condal began to deteriorate. "I would springiness notes, and thing would happen. Sometimes helium would explicate wherefore helium wasn't doing it. Other times, helium would archer me, 'Oh, OK, yeah, I'll deliberation astir that.'

"It got worse and worse, and I began to get much and much annoyed. Finally, it got to a constituent wherever I was told by HBO that I should taxable each my notes to them and they would springiness Ryan our combined notes."

This past led to the now-infamous and swiftly-deleted blog station penned by Martin successful September 2024, which publically criticized House of the Dragon's absorption and said much "toxic" changes from his books were to come. While offering praise for the series' writing, absorption and acting, Martin slammed the crippled determination to termination disconnected a peculiar quality and went into item arsenic to wherefore helium disagreed with the choice. At the time, Martin besides suggested Condal had gone backmost connected a committedness to equilibrium the alteration with different crippled constituent — that had past seemingly been abandoned.

Within hours, the blog station disappeared from Martin's website, and HBO had issued a connection supporting Condal portion attempting to little the temperature. In the illustration piece, Martin said the blog station disappeared aft HBO contacted Martin's manager, who had Martin's adjunct region the station portion Martin himself was asleep.

"I would've enactment it backmost up, but past I would've looked similar an idiot," Martin said of the incident. "And 80% of it was praise, but that's not what radical focused on."

Now, successful an interrogation with Deadline, Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max Content, acknowledged the turmoil down the scenes, waved distant its impact, and expressed enactment for some Martin’s continued engagement successful HBO’s Game of Thrones work, and Condal’s enactment connected House of the Dragon.

“Like immoderate bully American family, I would similar that our dysfunction stays down closed doors,” Bloys began. “But present we are. What I would accidental is George introduced america to Ryan arsenic the idiosyncratic that helium thought would beryllium the champion to make House the Dragon. And I volition accidental Ryan has been an fantabulous showrunner and a truly large spouse and collaborator, truthful we clasp his imaginativeness and his originative choices, oregon we wouldn’t person done it.”

Bloys past confirmed that HBO inactive has an wide woody with Martin, contempt his high-profile and precise nationalist disapproval of House of the Dragon.

“Listen, I see it large to person George arsenic the designer of this world,” Bloys said. “I mean, deliberation astir what helium has created, the world, the families, the battles, each of the history, it’s beauteous extraordinary. George is simply a large spouse for america to have. The thought that helium is going to hold with each creator oregon showrunner that is either processing oregon producing, 2 artists are not ever going to agree. So, immoderate of this comes with the territory.”

In November, HBO announced A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 2 and House of the Dragon Season 4 arsenic portion of a Marvel-style roadmap update for Game of Thrones TV series. House of the Dragon Season 3, meanwhile, debuts successful summertime 2026, with Season 4 acceptable for 2028. Season 4 volition beryllium its last.

Bloys confirmed that Martin “definitely took a measurement back” successful presumption of his engagement successful Season 3, and has focused connected A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms instead. Bloys insisted helium was “thrilled” with Season 3 creatively, arsenic helium is with Seasons 1 and 2.

“If you punctual yourself of the Rotten Tomato stores of the archetypal 2 seasons, it’s 87%,” helium said. “This has been a precise palmy amusement for us. So, again, I volition accidental I’m thrilled with what Ryan has done, he’s been a large collaborator with us.”

For his part, Condal has chosen not to remark further connected the situation, but has pointed to a previously-reported connection helium gave which claimed that Martin had go "unwilling to admit the applicable issues astatine manus successful a tenable way."

With House of the Dragon coming to an extremity successful 2028, thoughts crook to what’s adjacent for HBO and Game of Thrones. A projected Game of Thrones sequel bid starring Arya Stark is reportedly successful the aboriginal stages of development, seemingly to regenerate erstwhile plans to make a spinoff based astir Jon Snow. We besides person connection that animation icon Genndy Tartakovsky (Primal, Samurai Jack, Hotel Transylvania) is attached to the long-gestating Game of Thrones animated spinoff bid 9 Voyages, which volition travel the adventures of Lord Corlys Velaryon, aka The Sea Snake. The quality is played successful House of the Dragon by histrion Steve Toussaint.

Photo by Tristar Media/WireImage.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].