House of the Dragon season 2 sets June release, confirming a very busy start to the summer TV season

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It appears that June 2024 will be a busy month for big TV shows, and it just got way more crowded with the confirmation that House of the Dragon season 2 is joining the party.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav had teased recently the hit fantasy drama series would return "next quarter" (something which lined up with HBO boss Casey Bloys' words back in November). Now, it's WB Discovery streaming and gaming chief J.B. Perrette who confirmed a more precise window (via Variety).

Mind you, we've yet to receive a definitive release date for the second season of the Game of Thrones prequel, but a June release window already sets it up to compete against other TV behemoths like The Bear season 3 (FX) and The Boys season 4 (Prime Video). Moreover, unconfirmed reports going around claim the new Star Wars live-action series, The Acolyte, will premiere in June on Disney+ too.

This all both great and terrifying news for those of us into all things pop culture. The early summer season hasn't been this crowded in recent years, but with giants like The Rings of Power season 2 and other major IP shows expected to hit during the second half of the year, it makes sense to spread the heavy hitters around a lil' bit.

Season 2 of House of the Dragon will reportedly pack eight episodes, two fewer than season 1. It's one of the few major TV productions which weren't impacted by last year's months-long WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. The returning cast includes Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D'Arcy, Eve Best, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, Rhys Ifans, Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Phia Saban, Jefferson Hall, and Matthew Needham. Among the newcomers we find Abubakar Salim as Alyn of Hull, Gayle Rankin as Alys Rivers, Freddie Fox as Ser Gwayne Hightower, and Simon Russell Beale as Ser Simon Strong.

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