George R.R. Martin Gives Fans an Update on ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2: “I Am Told the Second Season Is Half Done”

Fans of House of the Dragon will be thrilled to hear the latest update from the author behind the hit series, George R.R. Martin.

Martin took to his website on Saturday (July 22) to share an update on the status of the series, and to reveal his thoughts about the ongoing dual SAG and WGA strikes. He wrote that the Golden Globe award-winning Game of Thrones prequel is “one of the shows still shooting,” and that he is “told the second season is half done.”

“ALL of the scripts had been finished months before the WGA strike began,” he emphasized, adding that “no writing has been done since, to the best of [his] knowledge.”

Martin cited the fact that the majority of the show’s filming takes place in London ,”(and a little bit in Wales, Spain, and various other locations),” and that as opposed to SAG-AFTRA, its actors are members of Equity, a British performing arts and entertainment trade union. He acknowledged that “though Equity strongly supports their American cousins (they have a big rally planned to show that support), British law forbids them from staging a sympathy strike.”

“If they walk, they have no protection against being fired for breach of contract, or even sued,” he continued.

In addition to HOTD, Martin gave an update on Dark Winds, the thriller AMC series where he works as an executive producer. He explained that production for the show “wrapped before either strike began,” and that its second season “will be returning to television on July 30, on AMC and AMC+.” However, he noted that “union members will not be participating in any promotions” for the upcoming season, and that both its NYC and LA premieres were canceled.

As a member of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) since 1986, Martin expressed his immense support of both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, embedding Fran Drescher’s speech in his post and writing, “Not much I can add to that, except “AMEN.”

Martin has been on “several pickets” in his home of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and he believes that “all the shows shooting [there] have shut down,”referring to productions in Los Angeles.

“The studios can stockpile scripts, but they can’t stockpile the actors,” he wrote.

The first season of House of the Dragon is available to stream on Max.