‘House of the Dragon’ Co-Creator Ryan Condal Renews Overall Deal with HBO

EXCLUSIVE: Bill Dubuque, the co-creator of Netflix’s Ozark, has signed an overall deal with Fifth Season.

Academy Award and Golden Globe-nominated actress Adriana Barraza (“Blue Beetle”) has joined Jean Reno in the family film “The Penguin and the Fisherman,” TheWrap has exclusively learned.“The Penguin and the Fisherman,” directed by David Schurmann, and co-written by Kristen Lazarain & Paulina Lagudi Ulrich and cinematography by Anthony Dod Mantle (“Slumdog Millionaire,” “127 Hours”) is based on the incredible true story of Joao Perei de Souza (Jean Reno), a Brazilian fisherman, who rescues a penguin (DinDim) covered in oil, near death, and far from his Patagonian home; washed up on a remote island beach off of Brazil. After DinDim returns to the wild, Joao is heartbroken…until a year later when DinDim returns.

“House of the Dragon” executive producer Sara Hess is going to continue developing original projects for HBO. The network announced Friday that Hess, who is also a writer on the “Game of Thrones” prequel series, is extending her overall deal for another two years.

House of the Dragon Executive Producer Sara Hess is staying put at HBO. The cabler has extended her overall deal for an additional two years. Hess also serves as a writer on the Game of Thrones prequel.

EXCLUSIVE: Barry writer-producer Jason Kim has signed a multi-year overall deal with 20th Television and Onyx Collective, under which he will develop television projects exclusively for both.

“House of the Dragon” distinguishes itself from the original “Game of Thrones” series is its more diverse cast. Despite the accolades and acclaim that came to “Thrones,” the HBO series was largely dominated by white cast members. In crafting a prequel series, “House of the Dragon” co-creator and showrunner Ryan Condal found a smart way to bring a more representative ensemble to Westeros while still keeping in line with George R.R.

EXCLUSIVE: Laura Neal, who was lead writer and exec producer of the fourth and final season of BBC America’s Killing Eve, is getting into business with MGM Television.

House of the Dragon moves at an extremely different pace than Game of Thrones and George R.R. Martin is giving his take on the infamous time jumps and how long he thinks the new HBO series should last.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Rome’s innovative MIA market dedicated to international TV series, feature films, and documentaries kicks off its eighth edition Tuesday, headed by new chief Gaia Tridente, who has added an animation section and been busy raising the curated mart’s international profile. The Oct. 11-15 MIA mart – its acronym stands for the Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo or International Audiovisual Market – this year is positioned prior to the Mipcom content market and conference that runs Oct. 17-20 in Cannes, since Mipcom has shifted its dates back.  But this non-voluntary repositioning has not impacted the number of registered MIA attendees, which is up more than 12% compared with past editions. More than 900 international industry execs are registered for the boutique event being held in central Rome’s Palazzo Barberini, which is Italy’s National Ancient Art gallery that during MIA doubles as the market’s hub where company stands are set up amid Renaissance and Baroque masterpieces. Screenings are held in a nearby state-of-the-art multiplex.

previously served as co-showrunner alongside director Miguel Sapochnik, had previously struck a deal with HBO in 2020, right after “HOTD” got a straight-to-series order. The series, which was also developed by author George R.R. Martin, was the first to triumph after a slew of failed spinoffs, including a pilot starring Naomi Watts.“When I picked up that paperback copy of ‘Game of Thrones’ over two decades ago, I wasn’t even sure I would make it as a screenwriter.

EXCLUSIVE: Ryan Condal succeeded where others failed — out of half-dozen or so writers who took a stab at co-creating a Game Of Thrones prequel with author George R.R. Martin, Condal’s House of the Dragon was the one to make it to series at HBO. After a big launch, the fantasy drama was quickly renewed for a second season, and now HBO also has renewed Condal’s overall deal.

Bruno Heller (Gotham, Rome) has a funny way — quite literally — of describing the move of Pennyworth: The Origin of Batman’s Butler from Epix to HBO Max.

EXCLUSIVE: Screenwriter, executive producer and showrunner Monica Macer is getting into business with MGM Television with a multi-year, exclusive, overall deal. Under the pact, Macer will create, develop and produce original scripted programming for the television studio.

‘Power Of The Dog’ Producer Tanya Seghatchian To Lead London Film Festival Jury

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has re-upped its overall deal with international bestselling author Harlan Coben. The original five-year, multimillion-dollar pact gave Netflix access to 14 Coben books to develop, in partnership with the author, into English-language and foreign-language series as well as films. The new deal, believed to be for four years, adds 12 more Coben titles including his signature 11-book Myron Bolitar series as well as 2021’s Win.

Christopher Vourlias Production is underway in Romania and Hungary on the new HBO Max Original “Spy/Master,” a spy drama series set during the height of the Cold War that will star British Independent Film Award-nominated actor Alec Secăreanu (“God’s Own Country,” “RUXX”). The 6 x 50’ series, which was the winner of HBO’s national screenwriting competition in Romania, marks one of the streaming service’s final productions from Central and Eastern Europe. As Variety first reported in July, parent company Warner Bros. Discovery will no longer produce originals for HBO Max in the Nordics (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland), Central Europe, the Netherlands and Turkey, and will also remove some content from its platform in order to free up licensing deals elsewhere.

EXCLUSIVE: There is another change in the executive producer ranks of HBO’s House of the Dragon. Jocelyn Diaz will not be returning to the Game Of Thrones sequel as it is headed into its second season. Sources said she had a one-year deal with an option for a second, which is not being picked up.

Emily Carey and Milly Alcock kicked off the first season of House of The Dragon as Alicent and Rhaenyra, and after just appearing in a handful of episodes.

House Of The Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal has addressed the possibility of young Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower returning in future episodes.In the sixth episode of the Game Of Thrones prequel which premiered on Sunday (September 25), the show jumped forward a decade and debuted new actors in the roles of Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Alicent (Olivia Cooke), replacing Milly Alcock and Emily Carey respectively.According to Condal, who will be the sole showrunner on season two following the departure of Miguel Sapochnik, the second season has been mapped out already and won’t feature the return of the younger versions of the characters.Asked by Variety if this is the last we’ll see of Alcock and Carey, Condal said: “I mean, look, I don’t know.” In regard to season two, he said that young Rhaenyra and Alicent “are not part of the story that we’re telling, yet. That’s not a thing that we’re doing right now.”Condal however didn’t shut down the possibility entirely for future seasons, saying House Of The Dragon can get “a little bit more fancy” in its narrative structure compared to Game Of Thrones.“There are things that we haven’t fully sorted out,” Condal added.