George R.R. Martin explains why House of the Dragon Season 2 is still filming

George R.R. Martin has addressed why House of the Dragon Season 2 is still in production amid the writers strike and other shows being delayed.

Last week, the Writers Guild of America announced its first strike since 2007, with screenwriters campaigning for fairer pay and firmer regulations in the streaming era to prevent a “gig economy” – you can find out more about the strike here.

A number of TV shows have already been affected: Stranger Things Season 5 is on indefinite hold until a “fair deal” is reached, pre-production on the MCU’s Blade movie has shut down, and all the main late-night talk shows have gone dark.

However, the highly anticipated second season of House of the Dragon will not be affected, at least in terms of scheduling.

George R.R. Martin addresses House of the Dragon Season 2 and writers strike

After it was revealed production on House of the Dragon Season 2 was continuing during the strike, Martin took to his personal blog to express his support for writers, while also explaining why the show hasn’t paused shooting.

“No one wanted this – no writer with an ounce of sense, anyway – but the producers and the studios and the networks and the streamers gave us no choice… I am not in LA, so I cannot walk a picket line as I did in 1988, but I want to go on the record with my full and complete and unequivocal support of my Guild,” he wrote.

Martin then gave several updates on his own shows: Dark Winds Season 2, on which he’s an executive producer, “wrapped several months ago”; Peacock passed on Wild Cards; and the writers room on the next Game of Thrones spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, “has closed for the duration” of the strike.

“Across the ocean, the second season of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON started filming April 11 and will continue in London and Wales,” he continued.

“The scripts for the eight s2 episodes were all finished months ago, long before the strike began, 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).”

Martin also confirmed the strike won’t affect The Winds of Winter, which “continues to be priority number one” in his ever-growing workload.

You can find out more about House of the Dragon Season 2 here, and check out our other Game of Thrones coverage here.