House of the Dragon season 2: release date, trailer, cast list, plot synopsis, and more

House of the Dragon season 2: key information

- Set to be released on June 16 (US) and June 17 (UK and Australia)
- Will debut on Max (US), Sky/Now TV (UK), and Binge/Foxtel (Australia)
- Contains eight episodes
- Numerous trailers released
- Key cast members from season 1 will return
- New characters revealed
- Plot synopsis revealed
- Third season is in early development

All must choose – to watch House of the Dragon season 2. The bloody and melodramatic fantasy show's second chapter is ready to roar onto our screens, so it's not only time to decide which side of the Targaryen civil war you're on, but also to prepare for the hugely successful Game of Thrones (GoT) prequel's return.

Below, you'll find a comprehensive rundown of everything worth knowing about House of the Dragon's (HotD) sophomore installment. That includes its official launch date, release schedule, full cast list of Team Black and Team Green's members, plot details, and the hit Max series' future. Before you dive in, though, read our spoiler-free review of House of the Dragon season 2's first four episodes.

Major spoilers follow for House of the Dragon's first season 1. We also discuss possible spoilers for its follow-up, too.

House of the Dragon season 2 release date and schedule

House of the Dragon season 2 will make its Max debut (in the US, that is) on Sunday, June 16. UK and Australian viewers will have to wait until Monday, June 17, to stream it on Sky Atlantic/Now TV and Binge/Foxtel respectively.

Season 2 will also be shorter than its predecessor, too. It'll comprise eight episodes instead of the usual 10, which was an intentional decision on its co-creators' part. Indeed, speaking to TechRadar, House of the Dragon's new showrunner Ryan Condal defended season 2's eight-episode arc, saying: "We had a clear path of view to the end and knew what the end of this particular chapter in the Targaryen history was. Looking at that, and knowing essentially how much storytelling time we needed to get there, there was a bit of a rebalancing of the narrative that was necessary to happen. This eight-episode cadence helped us to find that."

As for when each episode will arrive, here's this season's full release schedule:

• House of the Dragon season 2 episode 1 – June 16 (US); June 17 (UK/Australia)

• House of the Dragon season 2 episode 2 – June 23 (US); June 24 (UK/Australia)

• House of the Dragon season 2 episode 3 – June 30 (US); July 1 (UK/Australia)

• House of the Dragon season 2 episode 4 – July 7 (US); July 8 (UK/Australia)

• House of the Dragon season 2 episode 5 – July 14 (US); July 15 (UK/Australia)

• House of the Dragon season 2 episode 6 – July 21 (US); July 22 (UK/Australia)

• House of the Dragon season 2 episode 7 – July 28 (US); July 29 (UK/Australia)

• House of the Dragon season 2 episode 8 – August 4 (US); August 5 (UK/Australia)

House of the Dragon season 2 trailer

The last of numerous teasers heralding the show's return, House of the Dragon season 2's final trailer teased plenty of fire and blood, plus a very mysterious character's appearance, in mid-May.

Season 2's latest round of footage arrived one month after three fiery showdown-style trailers, which also confirmed House of the Dragon's return date. You can watch the main one of those teasers below, or catch the Team Black and Team Green trailers via these links instead.

Missed the very first trailer last december, which it teases a fiery and bloody beginning to The Dance of the Dragons, aka the Targaryen civil war? You can view that teaser below, too:

House of the Dragon season 2 cast

Spoilers follow for House of the Dragon season 1.

Here's who's returning for House of the Dragon season 2:

• Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen

• Olivia Cookie as Alicent Hightower

• Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen

• Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower

• Steve Toussaint as Corlys Velaryon

• Eve Best as Rhaenys Targaryen

• Fabien Frankel as Criston Cole

• Graham McTavish as Harrold Westerling

• Matthew Needham as Larys Strong

• Jefferson Hall as Jason and Tyland Lannister

• Harry Collett as Jacerys 'Jace' Velaryon

• Tom Glynn-Carney as Aegon II Targaryen

• Ewan Mitchell as Aemond Targaryen

• Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria

• Phia Saban as Helaena Targaryen

• Bethany Antonia as Baela Targaryen

• Phoebe Campbell as Rhaena Targaryen

The most notable absence from that list is Paddy Considine. He played King Viserys in the show's first season but, following his death via natural causes in the final episode, he won't return. Elliot Grihault, who played Lucerys 'Luke' Velaryon (Rhaenyra's second born) in season 1, isn't back, either. Luke and his dragon Arrax were killed by Aemond and the latter's dragon Vhagar in House of the Dragon's season 1 finale.

There are plenty of new characters to look out for season 2, though. Here's a brief rundown of the most important newcomers:

• Abubakar Salim as Alyn of Hull

• Gayle Rankin as Alys Rivers

• Freddie Fox as Ser Gwayne Hightower

• Simon Russell Beale as Ser Simon Strong

• Clinton Liberty as Addam of Hull

• Jamie Kenna as Ser Alfred Broome

• Kieran Bew as Hugh Hammer

• Tom Bennet as Ulf the White

• Tom Taylor as Lord Cregan Stark

• Vincent Regan as Ser Rickard Thorne

House of the Dragon season 2 story speculation

Full spoilers follow for House of the Dragon season 1.

HBO hasn't released a story brief for House of the Dragon season 2, but we know it'll mark the true beginning of The Dance of the Dragons, aka the brutal Targaryen civil war that not only nearly wipes out Houses Targaryen and Hightower, but devastates the continent of Westeros as a whole.

Season 2’s story, then, picks up in the days following the emotionally stunning events depicted in the season 1 finale – namely, Aemon and Vhagar's murdering of Luke and Arrax. Unsurprisingly, Luke's death devastates his mother Rhaenyra, and the wider Targaryen and Velaryon families, which sets The Dance of the Dragons in motion.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly (EW), Emma D'Arcy, who plays Rhaenyra, said: "The moment that she receives the news of Luke’s passing, that attempt at mediation [with Alicent] crumbles. I don’t think there is any longer the bandwidth to suppress and repress her nature… I am excited to discover what happens when Rhaenyra does less navigating, and more acting on her instincts and desires. For so many very legitimate reasons, she has her hands tied practically throughout season 1. I have a feeling that the rain might be off for season 2."

The conflict over who has claim to – and will eventually reign on – the Iron Throne burns bright heading into House of the Dragon season 2, too. Season 1 episode 9 saw Prince Aegon II – Alicent's second born and Rhaenyra’s half-brother – become Westeros' new monarch, much to Rhaenyra's fury. Indeed, Rhaenyra's father Viserys continually stated that his only child would become the continent's next ruler upon his passing. However, a misunderstanding – if that's the right word to use – between Alicent (Viserys' second wife and Aegon II's mother) and Viserys sees Alicent make a stunning move to install her son as Westeros' new king.

As much as viewers think Rhaenyra has been betrayed by her former best friend and extended family, things aren't as black and white (or should that be black and green?) as they seem. Indeed, while there are two clear sides to the fight, the allegiance of the many key figures and players – in true Martin style – are most certainly blurred.

"This is not a story of goodies and baddies, black hats and white hats," Condal told EW. "It's a story of this family that's been rent open by this dispute over who is meant to wear the crown after Viserys passes.

"Some people think it's Rhaenyra, some people think it's Aegon, and then there are other people within who think, 'Why should it be one of the two of them? Maybe it should be somebody else. Maybe it should be me!' The fun of this Greek tragedy is seeing, when you introduce a power vacuum to a world like this, how all of these individuals react."

Expanding on what we can expect from said brutal conflict, Condal explained (in a separate EW article): "It's really a cold war because each side is trying to undeniably win the throne for themselves without going to all-out dragon war. We do that through plotting and backstabbing and assassination and spy games and all the things that you would see in a classic James Bond Cold War thriller."

In keeping with the show’s name, Condal also told Deadline that we'll see new dragons in season 2. Elaborating on the hardships of bringing these giant, fire-breathing winged beats to life via CGI, Condal also said (via EW): "I think it was incumbent upon us to try to rise and meet that challenge, but doing so in a way that didn't seem like we were making a dragon from a different show – a 'fantasy dragon,' for lack of a better word. So Sunfyre [one of season 2's new dragons] had to exist as a cut above that would be recognized as distinctly beautiful within a world that has 17 other dragons running around."

If you've found it hard to keep track of all the human characters in the series so far, you might face a similar problem with these mythical monsters. Still, in a series based around dragons, you can never have enough of them.

Considering it's a Thrones precursor, House of the Dragon's first season had its fair share of call backs. Season 2 will also deliver more on that front, including a return to The Wall, which Rhaenyra's eldest son Jacaerys travels to in order to rally the Starks – led by Lord Cregan – to fight for the Targaryens in the war to come.

"He [Cregan] is very powerful," Condal told EW. "Everybody's vying for his army. He's quite a bit younger than Ned Stark was, so it's interesting to see the Young Wolf, the young Stark lord, and how he carries himself in the world, and the burden that's on his shoulders being the Warden of the North. I'm excited for the audience to see and experience that."

The Wall won't be the only location in season 2 that GoT fans will recognize. Harrenhaal will also play a prominent role this season, with Condal teasing: "Harrenhal definitely is its own character in the show. It had its own character in the original books [and] in the original series when Arya was playing cup bearer for Tywin there. Other than the Red Keep, it's probably the most talked-about, storied castle in Westeros, and we really wanted to pay service to it. Whether it's real or rumored, it does have this supernatural aura around it that does put people off. We were excited to play that out as storytellers."

Even though it's shorter than its forebear, season 2 will also devote more screen time to the series' supporting cast, some of whom didn't get more service last time around.

"The characters that I immediately wanted to get into are the characters that we didn't get to spend a ton of time with at the end of the season because of the needing to move through 20 years of narrative," Condal told EW. "We did not get to spend a lot of time with Aemond, Helaena, Jace, Baela, or Rhaena. Those characters are so immediately connected to Rhaenyra, Alicent, Daemon, Viserys, and Otto that we wanted to immediately shine the spotlight on them and get into their internal lives and what they make of all of this."

Fret not, Daemon fans, for everyone's favorite hot-headed, anti-heroic black sheep of the Targaryen family will get plenty of play in season 2 as well. In a chat with Variety, Matt Smith (who played Daemon) teased: "You never really know which way he’s going to go. I always viewed him as an agent of chaos... We definitely meet Daemon at a point of crisis in this situation, and in many ways, it’s a different version of him. It’s one that’s much weaker... We start to see the mask slip. Life becomes more difficult, and he gets soft around the edges. He starts to unravel."

Meanwhile, George R.R. Martin, who created the Game of Thrones franchise, has expressed how "cool" he found all the "weird ass stuff" that Condal and his fellow writers have included (per Deadline). Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Condal also revealed that fans can expect more where that came from, with their favorite characters "conspiring at the council tables, marching with their armies, and riding their dragons into battle".

With multiple new dragons and fascinating characters, plus a plot ripe for unraveling a thread of deceit, discord, and war, House of the Dragon season 2 will be filled with more of Game of Thrones' epically explosive tales. There'll plenty for those of an action mindset to enjoy, too – Condal telling EW that season 2 has "two of the largest sequences that certainly I've ever done... certainly that House of the Dragon has ever done". While we wait for next season to arrive, read up on five big questions House of the Dragon season 2 needs to tackle.

Where to watch House of the Dragon

Planning to watch House of the Dragon season 1 again (or stream it for the first time) before its successor takes flight? It's available to stream right now on Max in the US, Sky Atlantic and Now TV in the UK, and Binge and Foxtel in Australia.

Game of Thrones' eight seasons can also be watched on these platforms so, if you want to become engrossed in more of Martin's cut-throat fantasy world, you can catch every episode to date on those services. Once you're done, see if you agree with our ranking of best Game of Thrones seasons.

House of the Dragon season 3: is it happening?

House of the Dragon season 2 won't be the show's last entry. Speaking to TechRadar, Condal confirmed that House of the Dragon's third season was in the early stages of development, with script work currently being conducted. HBO has since confirmed that House of the Dragon season 3 is officially in development.

Given the show's immense popularity, and the desire of its cast and crew to tell the whole story written in 'Fire & Blood', George R.R. Martin's novel that covers House Targaryen's reign over Westeros and wider dynasty, there was bound to be another entry on the way after season 2. Here's hoping there'll be plenty more seasons to come after the third, too.

For more Max TV show-based coverage, read our guides on The Last of Us season 2 and Euphoria season 3. Alternatively, watch one of the best Max movies on the platform, or learn about all of the new Max movies that will arrive in June.