‘House Of The Dragon’ Co-Showrunner Miguel Sapochnik Departing New Series Due To Exhaustion

Miguel Sapochnik, a TV director who joined the directing team of Game of Thrones in its fifth season and went on to helm some of the best late-series episodes, is leaving the show’s prequel series House of the Dragon from his position as co-showrunner with Ryan Condal.

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The departure was his decision, with sources saying Sapochnik had grown fatigued after the show’s lengthy pre-production and filming phases from when it was first ordered by HBO in October 2019.

Seeing one of the creative leads on a show that is itself about power struggles and who will next be ruling the realm is interesting, though there won’t be any duels for the showrunner position here.

Condal will continue on as sole showrunner, with Sapochnik contributing in a more reduced role as an executive producer. HOTD has also reportedly hired former Thrones writer Alan Taylor to journey back to Westeros as an executive producer for its second season.

Sapochnik, who directed the show’s first episode and two more for the ongoing season, told Entertainment Weekly, “It was incredibly tough to decide to move on, but I know that it is the right choice for me, personally and professionally.”

The director will probably land somewhere equally great eventually given the pedigree of epic fantasy drama he has helped create. Sapochnik has a first-look deal with HBO for his new writing projects, and he also directed the science fiction film Finch starring Tom Hanks, which premiered in 2021 between the release windows of Thrones and HOTD.

One of the HOTD cast members, Steve Toussaint, said he was “gutted” when he found out about Sapochnik.

“While personally, I’m disappointed, because I think he has a great artistic vision,” Toussaint said. “I understand, for the good of his health, he’s got to take a long break and recharge himself and decide what he wants to do next to that.”