‘House of the Dragon’ Won’t Walk Away From On-Screen Sexual Violence

While HBO’s “Game of Thrones” was controversial over the amount of sex and nudity it featured on screen, prequel series “House of the Dragon” promises not to “shy away” from the same taboo depictions.

Co-showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik have openly addressed the “reimagining” of George RR Martin’s “Fire & Blood” for the series, which premieres Aug. 21. The 10-episode show is set 200 years before the events of “GoT” and focuses on a civil war that has divided the Targaryen clan.

Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Steve Toussaint, Paddy Considine, Sonoya Mizuno and Rhys Ifans direct the series. Other actors include: Milly Alcock, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Emily Carey, Harry Collett, Ryan Corr, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jefferson Hall, David Horovitch, Wil Johnson, John Macmillan, Graham McTavish, Ewan Mitchell, Theo Nate, Matthew Needham, Bill Paterson, Phia Saban, Gavin Spokes and Savannah Steyn.

Co-showrunner and director Sapochnik told The Hollywood Reporter that production is “backing off” on the amount of consensual sex on the show; however, sexual assault is still very present in the storyline. According to Sapochnik, the approach is done “with care and thought” when it comes to bringing the stories of sexual violence to the screen.

“[We] have no fear,” Sapochnik explained. “If anything, we’re going to shine a light on that aspect. You cannot ignore the violence that was perpetrated on women by men during this time. It should not be minimized and it should not be glorified.

Condal also talked about the show’s more diverse cast coming from “GoT.”

“We knew from the start that we wanted to change that conversation,” Condal said. “The world has changed a lot between 2011 and 2021 and [so did] what the audience expects to see on camera. The conversations that Miguel and I had were: how can we create a diverse cast for ‘House of the Dragon’ while doing it in a way that feels organic to the world and doesn’t feel like complacency or symbolism – and also doesn’t make them be pirates, slaves and mercenaries like you tend to see in high fantasies? »

Author Martin took to his blog in June to rave about the upcoming series adapted from his novel “Fire & Blood.”

“Yes, for all the book fans, this is my story. Of course, there are some changes from ‘Fire & Blood’ – we couldn’t feature three alternate versions of every major event, not and keep our right – but I think Ryan Condal and his writers made good choices. Even some improvements. (Heresy, I know, but being the author, I have a right to say it),” Martin wrote.

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