House of the Dragon’s Miguel Sapochnik reportedly left after HBO wouldn’t make wife a producer

New details have emerged regarding the surprising departure of House of the Dragon season 1 co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik.

While fans weren’t terribly surprised when HBO aired a Season 2 renewal just days after the series premiered, many fans were shocked when, just days later, Sapochnik said he was stepping down as co-showrunner, though he will still remain on the board as an executive producer.

Now a new report has appeared Disk which claims that Sapochnik’s departure came after HBO refused to allow his wife, actress Alexis Raben, who also served as a producer on the first season, to return as a producer for season 2, citing her lack of experience. .

DailyMail has contacted HBO and Sapochnik’s representatives for comment and has not heard back at this time.

Surprising: New details have emerged about the surprising departure of House of the Dragon season 1 co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik

Alexis: A new report from Puck has now surfaced claiming that Sapochnik’s departure came after HBO refused to allow his wife, actress Alexis Raben (above), who also served as a producer on the first season, to will return as a producer for season 2, citing her lack of experience

Reports of Sapochnik’s departure came in late August, adding that the departure was amicable and that he still has a first-look deal to develop other projects at HBO…although this new report claims those projects likely won’t happen. carry out

The report claims that the real reason for Sapochnik’s departure came after a “prolonged estrangement” between him online over the reinstatement of his wife Raben to the production team.

Raben appeared in four episodes of House of the Dragon as Talya, Queen Alicent’s (Olivia Cooke) lady-in-waiting, though she was credited as a producer on all 10 episodes.

Departure: Reports of Sapochnik’s departure came in at the end of August, adding that the departure was amicable and that he still has a first-look deal to develop other projects at HBO…although this new report claims those are likely projects are not carried out.

When Sapochnik requested that his wife return to the production team with him and Condal, HBO “politely said no, citing her inexperience,” according to two sources, though HBO declined to comment.

The negotiations were described as “a complete blowup” that even led HBO to hire a mediator to try to defuse the situation.

When all was said and done, Sapochnik decided to walk away from the show with his wife, even firing his agents from William Morris Enedavor (WME) and heading to Creative Artists Agency (CAA) with his wife.

Miguel and Alexis: When Sapochnik requested that his wife return to the production team with him and Condal, HBO “politely said no, citing his inexperience,” according to two sources, though HBO declined to comment

Sapochnik directed some of the biggest and best episodes of Game of Thrones, winning two Emmy Awards, one for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series for the 2016 episode Battle of the Bastards and sharing Outstanding Drama Series with the rest of the show’s producers. in 2019.

It came as no surprise then when he was joined as co-showrunner of House of the Dragon, alongside Ryan Condal, who co-created the series with Game of Thrones auteur George RR Martin.

Just days after the inevitable season 2 renewal, Sapochnik announced his departure as co-showrunner for the second season.

Emmy Winner: Sapochnik directed some of the biggest and best episodes of Game of Thrones, winning two Emmy Awards, one for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series for the 2016 episode Battle of the Bastards and sharing Outstanding Drama Series with the rest of the show’s producers in 2019

“Working within the GoT universe for the past few years has been an honor and a privilege, especially spending the last two with the incredible House of the Dragon cast and crew. I am very proud of what we achieved with Season 1 and delighted with the enthusiastic reaction from our viewers,” Sapochnik said in his August statement.

“It was incredibly difficult to decide to move on, but I know it’s the right choice for me, personally and professionally,” added Sapochnik.

“I am very pleased to continue to be a part of the HBO and House of the Dragon family and of course I wish Ryan and his team success and all the best with season two and beyond,” he concluded.

Hard: “It was incredibly difficult to decide to move on, but I know it’s the right choice for me, personally and professionally,” added Sapochnik.

House of the Dragon is set nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, following the Targaryen family who ruled Westeros with the might of their dragons.

The first season featured a series of controversial time jumps and ended with the deadly incident that will spark a civil war between the Targaryen and Hightower families.

The season 1 finale drew a whopping 9.3 million viewers, the largest audience for an HBO episode since the Game of Thrones series finale in 2019.

House of the Dragon season 2 is not expected to premiere on HBO until sometime in 2024.

Targaryen: House of the Dragon is set nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, following the Targaryen family who ruled Westeros with the might of their dragons.

Time Skips: The first season featured a number of controversial time skips and ended with the deadly incident that will spark a civil war between the Targaryen and Hightower families.