HBO's spin-off is a big hit, but Miguel Sapochnik is looking ahead to other projects.
House of the Dragon is proving to be a big hit for HBO, but co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik is already looking ahead to future projects. THR reports that Sapochnik is stepping down from his role with House of the Dragon, leaving Alan Taylor as the show's sole showrunner.
Sapochnik won't be going far. In addition to continuing to have an executive producer role on House of the Dragon, he will be getting a first-look deal with HBO to develop new projects. Sapochnik will depart his role after the first season, with Taylor taking over as a producer and director of multiple episodes.
Sapochnik's decision to step down will mark the end of three years spent developing House of the Dragon. HBO praised his work in a statement.
Every Dragon in Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon
“Miguel Sapochnik has done amazing work on the first season of House of the Dragon, establishing its signature look and feel,” HBO said. “This series simply could not have come together the way it did without him. While we would have loved to have Miguel continue in the same role, we are thrilled to have his ongoing collaboration in this new creative capacity. Looking forward, we've had a decades-long relationship with Alan Taylor, and we are delighted to have him join Ryan and rest the talented team.”
Both Taylor and Sapochnik called it an “honor” to work on the series, which grabbed 10 million viewers with its first episode and has only gotten more popular since.
Taylor, for his part, has a long history with Game of Thrones, having been instrumental in defining the look and feel of the show in its first season. His episode credits include “The Night Lands” and “Beyond the Wall.” Outside of Game of Thrones, Taylor has worked on shows including Mad Men and The Sopranos prequel, The Many Saints of Newark.
In the meantime, the second episode continued House of the Dragons' momentum, which we described in our review as having the “palpable sense of pieces being moved into place.” We also got a look at the opening credits and lots of dragons. The next episodes airs this Sunday.
Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.