It’s been nearly four years since the end of “Game of Thrones.” Sure, the series didn’t necessarily go out on a high note, but there’s no denying that the show is one of the most popular to ever grace TV screens. And since then, numerous spinoffs have been in development but we’ve only seen one season of “House of the Dragon.” So, what’s taking so long for HBO to excavate the gold mine that is ‘Thrones’ for all that its worth? Well, according to HBO executive, Casey Bloys, it’s all about quality control.

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Speaking to Variety, Casey Bloys talked about the current state of the “Game of Thrones” TV franchise. Yes, the creators of “House of the Dragon” are hard at work on Season 2, which Bloys admits won’t be released until summer 2024, at the earliest. And yes, there is still work being done on other spinoffs. However, there’s no rush on other spinoffs or a mandate for a certain number of ‘Thrones’ shows on air. It’s all about making sure each potential spinoff is of a certain quality before it gets the greenlight.

“My philosophy is a good script is number one priority,” said Bloys. “I am not doing it based on wanting to have one a year, two a year. I want to do it based on the scripts that we’re excited about.”

“Remember to get ‘House of the Dragon’ following up from ‘Game of Thrones,’ we developed a lot of shows, shot a pilot, developed a bunch of scripts and we got ‘House of the Dragon,’” he added. “To do that again is going to take the same amount of effort. You have to develop a lot of things, try things. You never know what’s going to work. So we’re currently doing that. I’m not opposed to any number of shows. There’s probably a natural limit to how many fans want, but I’m open to any as long as we feel really good about the scripts and the prospects for a series.”

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Obviously, HBO would love to have at least one more ‘Thrones’ show on the air right now. There’s a crazy big gap between seasons of “House of the Dragon,” due to the sheer size of that show. So, if there was another series, to play in the “off years” of ‘Dragon,’ then HBO would have a new ‘Thrones’ show on each year. That sounds like a good idea, right? Well, as we’ve seen with recent announcements over at Showtime, many networks are trying to go for quantity and hope for the best when it comes to quality. HBO, on the other hand, clearly isn’t willing to sacrifice quality in favor of maximizing franchise money-making. 

That said, there are a ton of ‘Thrones’ spinoffs that are seemingly in the works, including at least one sequel, “Snow.” But we’ve yet to hear any definitive word about which one of those will be the next to enter production. Who knows? Maybe none of the current crop is good enough and HBO stars from scratch, yet again. We’ll have to wait and see.