Game Of Thrones Author Describes ‘Abysmal’ Relationship With House Of The Dragon Boss
If George R R Martin’s description of showrunner Ryan Condal is anything to go by, the House Of The Dragon lunch room must have been a tad tense.
The Game Of Thrones creator said his relationship with Condal is “worse than rocky” in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, saying that, in actual fact, it is “abysmal”.
We already know that things haven’t been all rosy with the team behind the Game Of Thrones prequel series, after Martin publicly aired his grievances on “everything that’s gone wrong” with the adaptation of his work back in 2024.
Now, the author has shed some light on exactly what led to these gripes, explaining: “I thought Ryan and I were partners. And we were all through the first season.
“I would read early drafts of the scripts. I would give notes. He would change some things. It was working really well – I thought.”
The story then goes that Condal asked for – and received – Martin’s backing when he fell out with co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik, who eventually left the show after season one.
Martin has alleged that when House Of The Dragon reached its second season, Condal “basically stopped listening” to him and wouldn’t act on his notes for the show.
“Sometimes he would explain why he wasn’t doing it. Other times, he would tell me, ‘Oh, OK, yeah, I’ll think about that.’ It got worse and worse, and I began to get more and more annoyed,” he said.
“Finally, it got to a point where I was told by HBO that I should submit all my notes to them and they would give Ryan our combined notes.”
Last year, Condal spoke to Entertainment Weekly about his strained relationship with Martin, insisting he “made every effort to include George in the adaptation process” but that the author was “unwilling to acknowledge” the practical issues of adapting the work for the screen.
House Of The Dragon broadcaster HBO backed him up at the time, with a spokesperson saying: “Commonly, when adapting a book for the screen, with its own format and limitations, the showrunner ultimately is required to make difficult choices about the characters and stories the audience will follow.
“We believe that Ryan Condal and his team have done an extraordinary job and the millions of fans the series has amassed over the first two seasons will continue to enjoy it.”
Season three of House Of The Dragon is set to arrive this summer, with returning cast members including Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Rhys Ifans and Olivia Cooke.
Many fans will be hoping it’s a return to form after feeling disappointed by the lack of an action-packed season two finale.