No show on television has more family drama than \u201cHouse of the Dragon,\u201d HBO’s soap opera about the \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d Targaryen clan fighting for control of Westeros. And that drama apparently isn’t just onscreen, according to new reports about the showrunners of the hit series.<\/p>\n
Shortly after the first season premiered in August, co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik announced he was leaving the series, though he would continue to executive produce the series. At the time, HBO and Sapochnik framed his exit as an amicable one, with Sapochnik saying \u201cit was incredibly tough to decide to move on, but I know that it is the right choice for me, personally and professionally.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, according to a report from Puck \u2014 a media startup founded by former reporters at outlets like The Hollywood Reporter, CNN, and The Atlantic \u2014 Sapochnik’s exit was far from amicable. The report says that his leave from the show was instead motivated by disagreements between him and HBO over his wife, Alexis Raben, and her involvement in \u201cHouse of the Dragon.\u201d Raben appeared in four episodes of the series as Talya, a lady-in-waiting to Alicent (Olivia Cooke), and is a credited producer on Season 1 of the show.<\/p>\n According to the Puck report, Sapochnik asked for Raben to be again included on the producing team for the show’s second season, only for HBO to refuse, pointing to her inexperience \u2014 Raben’s only producing credit is on Season 1 of the series. The report further says that HBO had to bring in a mediator to de-escalate the dispute, before Sapochnik decided to leave the show over the situation, firing his agents at WME before going to rival agency CAA with his wife.<\/p>\n HBO declined to comment on the story to IndieWire. Sapochnik currently has a first-look deal with the channel to develop new projects.<\/p>\n Prior to joining Season 1 of \u201cHouse of the Dragon\u201d as co-showrunner alongside creator Ryan Condal \u2014 who now will serve as the sole showrunner of the series \u2014 Sapochnik helmed six episodes of \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d starting in Season 5. On \u201c House of the Dragon,\u201d he directed the pilot and the seventh episode, \u201cDriftmark.\u201d In a story with The Hollywood Reporter before the series premiere, Condal admitted Sapochnik was hesitant to join \u201cHouse of the Dragon,\u201d telling him, \u201cI’m never doing ‘Thrones’ again.\u201d<\/p>\nRelated<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n
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