HBO has long had a reputation for being home to some of the most successful television series of all time. In terms of critical reception and viewership figures, the network has seemingly managed to stay on top of the game for decades. Currently, HBO’s Drama Chief, Franesca Orsi, is in charge of several of the brand-defining programs that have catapulted HBO to the cutting edge of prestige television. While speaking with reporters, Orsi spoke about the future of shows such as Euphoria, House of the Dragon, The Last of Us, The White Lotus, and the upcoming Game of Thrones sequel known as Snow.
Over at Deadline, Orsi gave a “State of the HBO Drama” interview, where she was asked if HBO would soon be adrift once one of its biggest hit series, Succession, ends on Sunday with the conclusion of its fourth season. In response, the executive confidently stated, “We are really proud of the exciting return of The Last of Us, House of the Dragon, White Lotus, Euphoria and not to mention The Sympathizer, The Regime, True Detective, and The Idol.“
Of the ongoing writer’s strike influencing future scheduling decisions, Orsi stated that she’s hopeful that there will be a deal “sooner than later”, but did state that, should the strike go on too long, future seasons of some of its programs may be delayed. Several projects, such as The Last of Us and The Penguin, have already shut down production as the strikes intensify — speculation continues that the Directors Guild will soon strike, and the Screen Actors Guild is currently fielding a vote about a potential strike.
The interview also clarifies that, while The Last of Us was aiming for a 2025 release date for its second season, and The White Lotus was aiming for a 2024 release for its third season, both projects’ release dates are up in the air, as writers cannot participate in filming during the strike, meaning that any rewrites would need to be completed after filming, requiring reshoots, ADR, and other cost-raising measures. Meanwhile, Euphoria, which has been in a hiatus since February of 2022, apparently doesn’t “have countless scripts” written, so its planned 2025 release is also up in the air — a further setback for the drama, which has courted controversy and alleged behind-the-scenes disagreements between creator Sam Levinson and some of the cast members.
Interestingly, Orsi stated that while there are no plans for season 5 of Succession, the network has looked at the possibility of spin-offs, though she was very careful to emphasize that these plans are only in the discussion stage, and are not set in stone. Additionally, Orsi spoke about House of the Dragon‘s future. In recent months, it was announced that House of the Dragon‘s second season, which is currently filming (and adhering to the WGA’s strike guidelines, according to Orsi), would be cut down from 10 episodes to eight, due to narrative reasons. Orsi doubles down on this explanation, and states that discussions are happening with franchise creator George R.R. Martin about the show going either three or four seasons. According to Orsi, she doesn’t see any way to finish the story in less than four — and the network is hoping to get subsequent seasons out faster.
Orsi also explained that one recently announced Game of Thrones spin-off, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, is aiming for three seasons, based on the three currently released novellas in the series. However, the network would like Martin to write more stories — and he’s interested. Orsi also clarified that the series would be smaller scale when compared to House of the Dragon — since it takes place after the dragons have died off, its VFX budget would be less expensive, and its filming would likely be quicker.
A very vague update on the potential Game of Thrones sequel was also given out by Orsi: “We’re just working deeply with the writers to get it in shape for potential greenlight, but at this point, no, no determination on whether it can go all the way.”
Orsi gave plenty more information on series to follow. Briefly mentioning Perry Mason, Winning Time, and Gilded Age during the interview, she also goes into detail about controversial, upcoming series The Idol. One thing’s for certain — HBO’s drama schedule is sketched out for years to come.