As the upcoming series "House of the Dragon" approaches its release date, its showrunners Ryan J. Condal and Miguel Sapochnik reveal that it is a "complex Shakespearean family drama."
The series is a gripping saga that takes the audience deep into the extraordinary world of Westeros and explores the Targaryen family - the all-powerful dragon riders who are the seemingly invincible rulers of the seven kingdoms.
Even though the series is a prequel to "Game of Thrones", "House of the Dragon" has an entirely new story with new characters played by an impressive cast.
Chalking out the line of difference between the two shows, Ryan said in a statement that "Game of Thrones" was about multiple families going to war over justice and decency.
There was murder and betrayal, and all of those things exist here, but this is really about the dissolution of one family. That family happens to be the most powerful in the history of Westeros.
The show will present bitter rivalries, jealousy, lust, the quest for power, and betrayal that will tear the Targaryens apart and threaten to destroy a dynasty that has ruled unchallenged for a century.
Sapochnik, Condal's co-showrunner who also directs several episodes of the series, said: "Our story begins with the Targaryens in a secure place because they have the dragons - they have the weapons of mass destruction - and as long as they do, it's hard to imagine how anybody can step up to them. They know this, but that hubris could be their downfall."
Based on George R.R. Martin's book "Fire and Blood", the 10-episode series is set 200 years before the events that captivated global audiences in "Game of Thrones". In the series, Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D'Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Sonoya Mizuno, Fabien Frankel, and Rhys Ifans breathed life to several characters from Martin's book.
The series will be available to stream on Disney+ Hotstar from August 22 with new episodes dropping every Monday.
Clare Kilner, Geeta Vasant Patel and Greg Yaitanes, George R. R. Martin, Ryan Condal, and Miguel Sapochnik are also the executive producers, along with Sara Hess, Jocelyn Diaz, Vince Gerardis and Ron Schmidt. Composer Ramin Djawadi, of "Game of Thrones" fame, has scored the series.
