Olivia Cooke Gets Real Candid On House of the Dragon Showrunner Abrupt Exit

Early 2023 marked a huge loss for House of the Dragon, as showrunner Miguel Sapochnik suddenly quit the series amid his reported dispute with HBO. Just like in House of the Dragon, the Sapochnik exit was almost a family drama, as it was reported that he quit after HBO refused to let his wife, Alexis Raben, to produce season 2.

Even though Sapochnik would continue to exec produce House of the Dragon, his exit as showrunner was a blow to the entire team, and the show's star Olivia Cooke, who plays Alicent Hightower, is no exception.

“We all love Miguel, he’s a brilliant director and an incredible collaborator. He had just really radical ideas when it came to making this show," Cooke said in a recent interview on The Wrap's Unwrapped podcast. "We've got some really cool directors that we're working with this year and Geeta Patel and Clare Kilner are back, I mean his shoes won't be replaced entirely because he is his own entity, but there’s still that proportion to make this season as good, if not, better.”

Cooke herself is a big fan of Sapochnik; back at the time of her press tour for House of the Dragon season 1, she mentioned that his Battle of the Bastards from Game of Thrones was her favorite scene.

Still, the Alicent Hightower actress remains optimistic about House of the Dragon's future without Sapochnik as showrunner. After all, the Game of Thrones prequel is among the few series that did not stop production due to the ongoing joint strikes, because its actors are mostly from the Equity union, and the show is largely filmed in the UK.

The premiere date for season 2, however, remains unknown. What we do know is that the second chapter of House of the Dragon, albeit with fewer episodes, will pick up the first season's bloody family drama and take it straight into the Dance of the Dragons.

Season 2 may premiere at some point in the late spring or early summer in 2024.

Source: Unwrapped Podcast via Collider