HBO boss dismisses Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin's House of the Dragon concerns, says season 2 did "really, really well"

Alys Rivers and Daemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon
(Image credit: HBO)

HBO boss Casey Bloys has rejected the notion that viewers were split over their reaction to House of the Dragon season 2.

When asked by Deadline whether House of the Dragon has a shot at next year's Emmys after – in the outlet's words – the fanbase were "divided" over the most recent season, Bloys replied, "I'm not sure the fans were divided by season 2."

After the interviewer then made reference to George R.R. Martin's recent deleted blog entry (which criticized certain aspects of the recent season), Bloys seemingly joked, "Yes, maybe one fan was. But no, the show did really, really well. I expect that will be in competition."

Bloys added of HBO's possible awards contenders, "I have high hopes for Penguin and Colin [Farrell] and Cristin [Milioti]. We’ve got White Lotus coming back, we’ve got Last of Us coming back, we’ve got Emmy winner Hacks coming back. So I’m looking forward to next year."

Martin, who hastily took down his September blog post, took aim at changes to House of the Dragon season 2's Blood and Cheese scene, which removed certain elements from the source material, as well as failing to include Helaena's youngest son. 

Further into the post, Martin also pondered whether the tweaks would have a ruinous butterfly effect for future seasons of the show – including a major event in House of the Dragon season 3.

Still, Martin's working relationship with HBO remains strong. A new Game of Thrones spin-off, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, has just wrapped filming.

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Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.