Game Of Thrones prequel series House Of The Dragon will end with its fourth season, its showrunner has confirmed.

The show is the second television series to be based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song Of Ice And Fire franchise and is based on his 2018 book Fire & Blood, which is set approximately 200 years before the events of Game Of Thrones.

It tells the story of the decline of House Targaryen and the war of succession known as the ‘Dance of the Dragons’, and its first two seasons aired in 2022 and 2024 respectively.

Season three is set to hit HBO later in 2026, and now in an appearance on the Escape Hatch podcast, showrunner Ryan Condal has confirmed that the fourth season will bring the show to a close.

He revealed that the writing process for season four is underway and said that it would “be the last one”, adding that there is “only one more left to go” when talking about the physical and mental endurance that the show demands of him.

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A second prequel show A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms is also set to arrive on HBO on January 18 in the US (19 in the UK, on Sky and streaming service NOW), with the six episodes serving as an adaptation of Martin’s Tales Of Dunk And Egg novellas. That show has also been recommissioned for a second season already.

It is also known that a number of other prequels are in the works, with Martin strongly hinting that some of the Game Of Thrones-connected projects will also be set after the events of the main show.

Elsewhere, Martin recently said he dislikes his work being adapted by other writers, arguing that he feels they often make the material worse. “You’re adapting your book or your story and they hire someone to do it and… they empower this writer: ‘Okay, take The Great Gatsby but make it your own.’ And I don’t want anyone to make The Great Gatsby their own,” he said.

He has also been at odds with fans who criticise him for not finishing A Song Of Ice And Fire’s final books. He has called the task “the curse of my life”, and recently wrote in a blog post that fans who think he doesn’t care about finishing the books are wrong.

NME awarded season one of House Of The Dragon four stars, writing: “Some of the acting is wooden, and not up to the standard of vintage Thrones – perhaps because the main series used up literally all of the actors in Britain – but it is a relief to see a prequel that seems to know what it’s doing. A decent watch for fans and neutrals alike.”