‘House of the Dragon’ boss Ryan Condal has addressed the departure of Miguel Sapochnik as a co-showrunner for the HBO fantasy drama.
In late August, HBO confirmed that Sapochnik was stepping away from the series, though he remains an executive producer for the remainder of the show. talking to Entertainment Weekly In a new interview, Kondal said he was aware that Sapochnik might not be available in a co-showrunner capacity for the entire “HoTD” run.
“It was definitely on Miguel’s mind,” Condal said. “He’s definitely been in Westeros for a really long time. I was always aware of the potential that he might have gotten on his feet this one season and got feathers in his hat of doing a show which he co-starred in and had a hand in the conception and casting and making, versus the original series where he definitely eventually became a producer, certainly I think [‘Thrones’ showrunners] David [Benioff] and charity [“D.B.” Weiss]K’s most trusted filmmaker, but not in the way he participated in ‘House of the Dragon’. So it was always on my mind.”
Kondal said he believed Sapochnik shared what he needed with the first season of “HoTD.”
“I think in the end, he realized that he had said exactly what he had to say,” added the co-producer and now lone showrunner.
With the exit of Sapochnik (he has a first-look deal with HBO), “Game of Thrones” veteran director Alan Taylor (“Mad Men,” “The Sopranos,” “Rome” and “Deadwood”) director and a Joining as Executive. Producer for several Season 2 episodes. Condall told EW that the HBO team suggested Taylor.
“He’s a director I just assumed was not available, but I’ve always wanted to work with Allen,” he says. “He’s a legend, he’s worked on almost every single one of my favorite television shows of all time. When HBO picked him up, we jumped on him. We called and talked. We ended it pretty quickly. Did it. He had already watched, I think by the time, the first episode of our show and we were really excited about what we were doing. It was just a fast friendship that we developed. I’m Alan Excited to work with him and see what he brings to ‘House to the Dragon’.”
