'House of the Dragon' on HBO: Official episode runtimes very similaritis with 'Game of Thrones'
We are just a few weeks away from the premiere of the highly anticipated HBO series 'House of the Dragon’ and fans have already marked their calendars to witness the epic saga about House Targaryen. Set almost 200 years before the events of ‘Game of Thrones’, the series will follow House Targaryen at its peak and ruling Westeros. The creators have announced the first season of the HBO series will consist of 10 episodes, but the duration of episodes was unknown.
However, we finally have confirmation about how long the first three episodes of the upcoming fantasy drama are going to be and it’s surely going to make viewers happy. HBO has posted information about the first three episodes on its website and revealed that the season premiere will be 1 hour and 6 minutes long, making it one of the longest episodes in the ‘Game of Thrones’ universe. The episode seems to be heavily filled with gore and nudity because the warning label for the episode says “adult content, adult language, graphic violence, nudity, and strong sexual content." On the other hand, the second episode will be 54 minutes long and contains warning labels regarding adult content, adult language, and violence. Meanwhile, the third episode of the HBO series will have a runtime of 58 minutes.
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The runtime for ‘HOTD’ first three episodes is much similar to the first three episodes of ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 1. The season premiere of ‘GOT’, entitled ‘Winter is Coming’, was 1 hour and 1 minute long, while the other two episodes had a runtime of 55 minutes and 57 minutes, respectively.
Even though the warning labels feature “sexual content”, creators of the show have made it clear that it won’t feature the same amount of sex scenes as they were seen in the original series. While speaking in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, showrunner Miguel Sapochnik revealed that sexual violence is still a part of the show but they are going to approach it very “carefully and thoughtfully”. He added, “[We] don’t shy away from it. If anything, we’re going to shine a light on that aspect. You can’t ignore the violence that was perpetrated on women by men in that time. It shouldn’t be downplayed and it shouldn’t be glorified.”
Even though ‘Game of Thrones’ is considered to be one of the greatest shows in TV history, it was heavily criticized for its depiction of sexual violence. Nevertheless, it’s good that the creators have “pulled back” on the amount of sex because it gives more time to other riveting stuff.
The series sees Emma D’Arcy playing the role of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen in the show, while Matt Smith portrays Prince Daemon Targaryen. Other actors to feature in the show include Paddy Considine (King Viserys I Targaryen), Olivia Cooke (Lady Alicent Hightower), Steve Toussaint (Lord Corlys Velaryon), Eve Best (Princess Rhaenys Velaryon), and Sonoya Mizuno (Mysaria).
The series is scheduled to premiere on August 21, 2022, on HBO, and its first season will consist of ten episodes.