'House of the Dragon' Showrunner Staying on Amid Writers Strike, But There's a Troubling Catch

'House of the Dragon' Showrunner Staying on Amid Writers Strike, But There's a Troubling Catch,House of the Dragon Season 2 will continue filming through the WGA writers strike, and showrunner Ryan Condal will stay on set. Last week, Variety reported that Condal would work through the strike and would carry out his work as an executive producer without doing any of the work associated with [...]

‘House of the Dragon’ Showrunner Staying on Amid Writers Strike, But There’s a Troubling Catch

House of the Dragon Season 2 will continue filming through the WGA writers strike, and showrunner Ryan Condal will stay on set. Last week, Variety reported that Condal would work through the strike and would carry out his work as an executive producer without doing any of the work associated with screenwriting. This raised some eyebrows on social media and prompted further explanation from author George R.R. Martin.

The rules of a writers strike say that screenwriters may not perform any of the work associated with their craft, and typically that means most writers stop working altogether. That often includes EPs and showrunners, whose work is hard to compartmentalize, and who want to show solidarity with their union anyway. That means other union members have thrown some shade at Condal for staying on set through the strike, but according to Variety’s sources, Condal is not violating the strike. They said the writers finished their work well in advance, and Martin seemed to back up that statement.

If they’re still shooting, the writing isn’t finished.

— Josh Olson (@joshuarolson) May 2, 2023

“The scripts for the eight s2 episodes were all finished months ago, long before the strike began,” Martin wrote on his blog on Sunday. “Every episode has gone through four or five drafts and numerous rounds of revisions, to address HBO notes, my notes, budget concerns, etc. There will be no further revisions. The writers have done their jobs; the rest is in the hands of the directors, cast and crew… and of course the dragons.”

Some writers were still skeptical of this arrangement, knowing that last-minute rewrites are sometimes done on set. Some also felt that Condal’s work was bad for the union’s show of solidarity even if he truly wasn’t breaking any rules.

The Writers Guild of America called a strike starting last week after it failed to reach an agreement on a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers – the organization that essentially represents Hollywood studios. The WGA is seeking an increase in pay rates for writers as well as assurances on certain durations of employment and mandatory staffing so that there are enough people on hand to do all the work required. Of course, the sticking point that has gotten the most coverage so far is the stipulation about artificial intelligence programs taking on some duties previously carried out by screenwriters.

Guys, c’mon. GoT didn’t have writers for season eight and it turned out fine.

— K.D. (@Qnorthropi) May 7, 2023

While the strike hasn’t stopped House of the Dragon, it has halted work on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight – the next Game of Thrones spinoff ordered by HBO just last month. Like all the other halted productions, there’s no telling how this may impact its release timeline since there’s no telling how long the strike will go on. House of the Dragon Season 2 is expected to premiere in the summer or fall of 2024.

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