'House of the Dragon' to return with season 2 in early summer of 2024

The second season of Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon will premiere on HBO in "early summer" of 2024.

HBO chief Casey Bloys shared the news during a New York press event where the sophomore chapter's first trailer was also showcased, entertainment news outlet Variety reported.

House of the Dragon, which premiered on HBO in August 2022, is based on George RR Martin’s book Fire & Blood, a history of House Targaryen set 300 years before the events described in “Game of Thrones”, which ended its eight-season run in 2019.

The news outlet reported that season two began filming at Warner Bros.’ Leavesden Studios on April 11 and was unaffected by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike, which began May 2 and lasted until September 27, as well as the ongoing actors strike by the SAG-AFTRA.

At the event, Bloys also revealed that the second season of another hit show, The Last of Us, will commence production in early 2024. Starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, the show is based on the popular video game of the same title.

The HBO chief revealed that the dual strikes by the WGA and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes had delayed production.

Set 20 years after the destruction of modern civilisation, The Last of Us follows Joel (Pascal), a hardened survivor who is hired to smuggle 14-year-old Ellie (Ramsey) out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse the US and depend on each other for survival.

Created by Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, The Last of Us also features Gabriel Luna, Anna Torv, Nico Parker, Murray Bartlett, Nick Offerman, Melanie Lynskey, Storm Reid, and Merle Dandridge.

Bloys provided an update about Zendaya-starrer Euphoria as well. The Sam Levinson-created show's third season is expected to debut in 2025.

Euphoria stars Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, Sydney Sweeney, Maude Apatow, Alexa Demie, Jacob Elordi, Angus Cloud, Barbie Ferreira and Dominic Fike as troubled high schoolers caught up in a world of drugs, love and crime.

Season one of Euphoria premiered in June 2019, followed by its second season which came out in January 2022.