House of the Dragon is the Game of Thrones prequel coming to HBO on Aug. 21. It is set two centuries before its source series and revolves around House Targaryen, best known for dragons and double-crossing. While many of the cast and crew are new to Westeros, there are a few familiar faces leading the spinoff, including a multi-Emmy-winning director. We’ve listed all the directors for the 10-episode first season, and identified whether they worked on Game of Thrones.
Miguel Sapochnik
Sapochnik is opening the series as director of episode 1. He also directed episodes 6 and 7. The London-born film and TV director is a Game of Thrones alum, having helmed six episodes, three of which are among the highest-rated in the series. “Battle of the Bastards” earned Sapochnik an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series. He won another for Outstanding Drama Series as part of season 8 of Game of Thrones.
Greg Yaitanes
US-born Yaitanes directed episodes 2, 3, and 10, and co-executive produced episode 1. He was not involved with Game of Thrones, but he directed other famous series like CSI: Miami, Bones, Grey’s Anatomy, Prison Break, Heroes, Lost, The Twilight Zone, and House. Yaitanes is also an Emmy winner, having won for directing the “House’s Head” episode of House.
Clare Kilner
Kilner, a veteran director of film and TV, took the reins for episodes 4 and 5, lost them, and regained them for episode 9. However, she doesn’t have prior experience with the GoT franchise. Her previous credits include projects like How to Deal, The Wedding Date, American Virgin, The Alienist, Snowpiercer, and The Mosquito Coast.
Geeta V. Patel
Patel helmed episode 8, which makes her the only single-episode director in season 1. Before House of the Dragon, she directed such shows as The Mindy Project, Superstore, and The Magicians, plus she wrote, edited, produced, and even shot a host of other projects. Like Yaitanes and Kilner, Patel is new to the George R.R. Martin-invented world.