House of the Dragon quickly became one of HBO's biggest hits when it launched last year, making it all the more surprising when co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik confirmed his departure from the series. When the news broke back in August, he described his time in the Game of Thrones Universe as "an honour and the privilege."
However, despite saying that moving on was "the right choice for me, personally and professionally," Sapochnik failed to elaborate on what exactly led to him choosing to walk away from Westeros.
Well, we may finally have some news on that front courtesy of Puck's Matthew Belloni (via SFFGazette.com). He reveals that Queen Alicent's maid Talya, or the actress who played her, may have been in the midst of an off-screen coup that would make House of the Dragons' leads proud.
Sapochnik is married to Tayla actress Alexis Raben, and you might have noticed her name a couple of times in the credits because she produced the show as well as starring in it. The report claims that the co-showrunner's departure came "after a protracted standoff over his wife and her involvement in [House of the Dragon]."
It sounds like Sapochnik wanted Raben to join his and co-showrunner Ryan Condal's producing team for House of the Dragon's second season, a somewhat unrealistic request if you really stop and think about. HBO clearly agreed with that sentiment as they felt she didn't have enough experience for such a pivotal role in this franchise.
The negotiations reportedly became so heated that HBO brought in a mediator in an effort to calm the situation, though Sapochnik would ultimately choose to walk away from a series he could have been a key part of for years to come.
HBO has declined to comment on the situation, and we can't imagine Sapochnik or Raben will either. It's a bizarre situation, that's for sure, and a perfect example of nepotism in Hollywood (if the report is accurate, of course).
All episodes of House of the Dragon are now available to watch on HBO and HBO Max.