HBO Boss Addresses "Dysfunction" Between HOUSE OF THE DRAGON Showrunner and George R.R. Martin

The war for Westeros isn’t just happening on screen anymore. While fans wait for the next season of House of the Dragon to arrive on HBO, a real world clash has been playing out during the long Season 2 hiatus.

This time, the tension isn’t between the Greens and the Blacks, but between George R.R. Martin and showrunner Ryan Condal. Now, HBO CEO Casey Bloys has stepped in to address the growing chatter about what he openly calls “dysfunction” behind the scenes.

The situation boiled over shortly before the premiere of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, when Martin publicly described his working relationship with Condal as “abysmal” and “worse than rocky.”

Those comments followed earlier criticism Martin had aimed at House of the Dragon Season 2, where he took issue with how far the show drifted from his source material. Bloys responded in an interview with Deadline, acknowledging the strain without throwing anyone under the dragon.

“Like any good American family, I would prefer that our dysfunction stays behind closed doors. But here we are. What I would say is George introduced us to Ryan as the person that he thought would be the best to create House the Dragon.

“And I will say Ryan has been an excellent showrunner and a really great partner and collaborator, so we embrace his vision and his creative choices, or we wouldn’t have done it.”

Bloys didn’t dig into the specifics of Martin’s complaints, particularly those tied to Condal’s adaptation choices from Fire & Blood, the book that serves as the backbone of House of the Dragon.

Both seasons of the series are currently streaming on Max, and despite the noise, the show’s performance has remained strong.

Back in 2024, Martin published a now-deleted blog post that zeroed in on the series’ version of Blood and Cheese, one of the darkest and most consequential moments in his book and a defining stain on Daemon Targaryen’s legacy.

The TV version made several notable changes, enough that fans quickly started comparing lists of what was altered and what was left behind.

Even with the friction, HBO isn’t cutting ties with Martin. Bloys made it clear the author remains a key figure in the larger Game of Thrones universe, especially as new projects continue to take shape.

“Listen, I consider it great to have George as the architect of this world. I mean, think about what he has created, the world, the families, the battles, all of the history, it’s pretty extraordinary. George is a great partner for us to have.

“The idea that he is going to agree with every creator or showrunner that is either developing or producing, two artists are not always going to agree. So, some of this comes with the territory.”

That said, Bloys confirmed Martin has “definitely took a step back” from House of the Dragon Season 3, shifting more of his attention to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which has been earning strong praise.

The HBO boss also pointed out that House of the Dragon currently sits at 87% on Rotten Tomatoes across its first two seasons, while A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is even higher at 95%. Bloys added that Condal has been “a great collaborator with us” in turning House of the Dragon into HBO’s first successful Game of Thrones spinoff.

This isn’t the first time Bloys has tried to smooth things over. In late 2024, he compared the working relationship to a marriage that can get “rocky.” Condal was far less gentle around the same time, saying Martin “just became unwilling to acknowledge the practical issues at hand in a reasonable way.”

As for what all this means creatively, that remains the big question. Season 3 of House of the Dragon is expected to arrive in the summer of 2026, though an official premiere date hasn’t been announced.

For the show to fully realign with Martin’s version of Targaryen history, some major shifts would need to happen early in the season. Still, even with deviations from the page, it’s hard to imagine HBO skipping the massive battles that define this brutal chapter of Westeros.

For now, fans are left watching the dragons circle, both on screen and off, waiting to see where the fire lands next.