Updated

Updated · The A.V. Club · Jul 23

Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Weighs Multi-Year Season Breaks After Season 2 Strain

Updated

Updated · The A.V. Club · Jul 23

Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Weighs Multi-Year Season Breaks After Season 2 Strain

Q: What 'brutal' production disaster is forcing a hit show to consider taking multi-year breaks between its seasons?

The “brutal” production disaster was a freak weather catastrophe during Season 2 of **A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms**: a **once-in-a-100-year storm and flooding in Gran Canaria** that repeatedly shut down filming and submerged parts of the production. Showrunner Ira Parker said the second season was “brutal” and a “fucking bastard” to make, with production becoming far harder than Season 1. The irony was that the team had chosen the location to depict a drought, only to be hit by torrential rain, flooding, national emergency conditions, and stop-start delays while sets and locations were soaked or underwater. That ordeal is one reason Parker is considering **multi-year gaps between later seasons**. He has also said longer breaks would help in two other ways: giving **George R.R. Martin** more time to finish later Dunk and Egg material, and allowing **Dexter Sol Ansell**, who plays Egg, to age naturally into the older version of the character needed for future storylines. So the immediate “disaster” was the **historic storm and flooding in Spain**, while the broader case for long breaks is a mix of **production recovery, source-material timing, and the child lead’s aging**.

3 articles · Updated · The A.V. Club · Jul 23

Ira Parker said Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms could take multi-year gaps between seasons later in its run, even as long hiatuses have become a pain point for major TV franchises.
Season 2's difficult production is driving that thinking: Parker told The Hollywood Reporter he has had a “bastard” of a time making the new season.
Parker also tied the idea to the story's timeline, saying breaks could give George R.R. Martin more time to finish books and let Egg age into a prince.
The prospect stands out because HBO has already struggled to pull viewers back into House Of The Dragon, while Netflix has faced backlash over long waits between hit-show seasons.