George R.R. Martin Reveals "Abysmal" Relationship with ‘House of the Dragon’ Creator Ryan Condal

Published 01/15/2026, 2:11 PM EST

The iron throne is not the only thing facing a bitter civil war, as the mastermind behind Westeros breaks his silence on a crumbling partnership. George R.R. Martin has shared startling details regarding the fractured state of his collaboration with the House of the Dragon’s Ryan Condal.

The fire between the creator and the showrunner has officially turned to ice, threatening the future of the franchise.

George R.R. Martin discloses the deteriorating relationship with Ryan Condal

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

The legendary author, George R.R. Martin described his current standing with showrunner Ryan Condal as abysmal, during an interview of The Hollywood Reporter.

“It’s worse than rocky. It’s abysmal”, Martin told The Hollywood Reporter.

This admission confirms long-standing rumors that the relationship between the creator and the television production has completely deteriorated. According to Martin, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse during the development of the second season. He claimed that his professional notes were increasingly ignored or dismissed without any meaningful follow-up from the leadership.

"Then we got into season 2, and he basically stopped listening to me," Martin reflected on the lack of communication.

The author explained during the interview that the partnership began with a strong sense of mutual respect during the production of the first season. Martin stated that he felt like a true partner who was actively involved in reviewing early script drafts and providing critical feedback. He noted that the dynamic was highly functional until the departure of co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik, which seemed to trigger a shift in the production atmosphere.

'Game of Thrones' Veteran Sophie Turner Reveals She’s Open to Return to the Universe, but With One Hesitation

The public soon witnessed the internal strife through a series of cryptic and deleted digital messages.

The breakdown of creative control of House of the Dragon

Previously, in late 2024, when George R.R. Martin published a blog post titled Beware the Butterflies, he got a lot of fan backlash. In this writing, he criticized specific narrative changes made in House of the Dragon that he felt undermined the integrity of his original work. Although his team removed the post after pressure from the network, the author revealed he had several more articles planned to address his concerns.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

At present, the tension eventually forced the network to change how the author contributes his creative ideas. This move was intended to consolidate feedback, but instead served to further alienate the creator from the daily operations of the series.

2025’s Most Talked-About Live-Action Adaptation Is Finally Hitting Netflix

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

What are your views regarding George R.R. Martin's view on Ryan Condal behaviour on House of the Dragon set? Let us know in the comments below.  

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

ADVERTISEMENT

Soma Mitra

802 articles

Soma is a journalist at Netflix Junkie. With a postgraduate degree in Mass Communication, she brings production experience from documentary films like Chandua: Stories on Fabric. Covering the true crime and docu-drama beat, she turns psychological thrillers into sharp, audience-aware storytelling.

Edited By: Hriddhi Maitra

ADVERTISEMENT

EDITORS' PICK