The ‘House of the Dragon’ season finale has arrived early — and not on HBO’s terms.
This story first appeared in the Sept. 19 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.
It’s a good thing the House of Cards’ season finale got away from the HBO megahit machine and into an actual TV studio, because a whopping four episodes of the show are about to be played out on its usual Monday-night slot.
The network on Tuesday confirmed the renewal of House of Cards for a third season, its first at the helm of series creator Beau Willimon. The show, which was already renewed for a second season of its own, won an A-18 “best of” Emmy for original Netflix series in its first season. The streaming service this year also gave the program an A-18 ratings boost by making several of its episodes available on the service’s binge-watching service, VOD.
The long-awaited season finale arrives in its usual slot, but with four episodes (not two as last season’s finale on Feb. 28) spread out across its two installments.
But the finale has received new special treatment on the most-viewed show of the year. And viewers will watch without the option of buying the season’s end-of-season, one-hour finale. Season two’s finale took place on Oct. 30, but it was shot before the season began. Season three’s finale will take place the following week on Oct. 14.
The drama’s producers and stars were happy to hear the show was renewed, according to Willimon and showrunner Beau Willimon, who took over as showrunner after creator Beau Willimon left the show in season one.
“It’s a huge event for us,” Willimon said in a statement. “When the final episode arrives on your TV, you are just happy to be alive, to be able to watch it in progress. We are very excited about this, especially because it’s a very special episode that we shot in