5 good TV shows to watch if you like House of the Dragon

House of the Dragon is one of the biggest and best shows on TV right now! The second season of the Game of Thrones spinoff just came to an end in August 2024. Now, we have a long wait for House of the Dragon season 3. 

Thanks to the success of House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, there’s been an incredible investment of resources into the fantasy genre! 

Unfortunately, there aren’t that many good fantasy shows on TV right now, but there are a few. Throw in a few historical dramas and some outside-the-box picks, and you’ll have quite the list of shows to watch while waiting for House of the Dragon season 3! 

For obvious reasons, we did not include Game of Thrones on this list. You should definitely watch Game of Thrones if you haven’t already, especially if you’re watching House of the Dragon. Like, what are you waiting for? 

Let’s get the list started with The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power! 

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

• Seasons: 1
• Season 2 premiere date: Aug. 29
• Created by J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay
• Cast: Morfydd Clark, Robert Aramayo, Markella Kavenagh, Charlie Vickers, Maxim Baldry, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Benjamin Walker, Charles Edwards, Daniel Weyman, and more 

This one is easy! The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is the show for fans of House of the Dragon to watch. It’s not that the shows are all that similar, but I do think there’s going to be crossover among the fandoms of House of the Dragon/Game of Thrones and Rings of Power. 

The Rings of Power went toe-to-toe with House of the Dragon during the first season. Prime Video and HBO released both shows during the summer of 2022. Now, each of the shows are back in the summer of 2024, but this time, Prime Video waited until House of the Dragon season 2 ended before the next season of The Rings of Power premieres on Aug. 29. 

The Rings of Power explores the origins and rise of Sauron in Middle Earth. It’s based on the stories and characters from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. If you want the story behind the making of – you guessed it! – the rings of power in Middle Earth, this is the show for you! 

I prefer House of the Dragon to The Rings of Power, but I have really high hopes for the new season of the series. I can’t wait to see how the show improves! 

The Witcher 

• Seasons: 3
• Season 4 premiere: 2025
• Created by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich
• Cast: Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, Liam Hemsworth, Joey Batey, and more 

The Witcher is based on the book series by Andrzej Sapkowski. The series from Lauren Schmidt Hissrich premiered on Netflix in 2019, and it’s been a huge hit for Netflix since then. 

We’ve seen three seasons of The Witcher so far with Henry Cavill starring as Geralt of Rivia. The series tells Geralt’s story as he tries to protect the Princess Ciri, played by Freya Allan, from those who wish to exploit her power as the Continent falls into war. 

The third season premiered in the summer of 2023, but we’re going to be waiting a whlie until The Witcher season 4 hits Netflix. Right now, it’s looking like The Witcher season 4 will be back sometime in 2025. 

Cavill exited the series after the third season, and Liam Hemsworth is stepping in to replace him as Geralt. It’s going to be really interesting to see fans, who largely enjoyed Cavill’s Geralt, respond to Hemsworth. 

Overall, The Witcher doesn’t really feel like House of the Dragon vibes. They are very different shows within the fantasy genre, but there’s still a lot to like about this series, especially as the world expands. 

The Wheel of Time 

• Seasons: 2
• Season 3 release: 2025
• Created by Rafe Judkins 
• Cast: Rosamund Pike, Daniel Henney, Zoë Robins, Madeleine Madden, Josha Stradowski, Marcus Rutherford, and more 

Of all the shows on this list not called Game of Thrones, I think The Wheel of Time is the show that House of the Dragon fans will like the most. Again, the shows are very different, but there’s enough good stuff going to keep everyone interested. You can watch both seasons of the series on Prime Video.

The Wheel of Time is based on Robert Jordan’s 14-book series. It follows a group of young people from the Two Rivers, a small village. One of the five is the Dragon Reborn who, in prophecy, will face the Dark One with the fate of the world at stake. 

Right now, The Wheel of Time is heading into its third season. Production has wrapped, and we’re anticipating the new season will be released sometime in 2025. The second season was released in the fall of 2023, but we shouldn’t have to wait two full years to see the new season of The Wheel of Time. 

Succession 

• Seasons: 4 
• Created by Jesse Armstrong
• Cast: Hiam Abbass, Nicholas Braun, Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin, Jeremy Strong, Peter Friedman, Natalie Gold, Matthew Macfadyen, Alan Ruck, Sarah Snook, and more

Well, you reached the first and only non-fantasy show on the list! Succession is not a fantasy series. It’s a drama, drama, drama, and more family drama, though. And, if nothing else, House of the Dragon is just a family business drama with higher stakes, a different setting, and dragons, you know? 

Succession tells the story of the Roys, a family of billionaires who own a corporation. Logan Roy, played by Brian Cox, plans to move on from the business, but he doesn’t want, at times, to turn over the business to his problematic adult children. Swap in “kingdom” for “family business,” and you’ve got House of the Dragon. 

Succession is considered to be one of the best TV shows of all time. It’s definitely on the shortlist of the best shows of the last decade. If you haven’t seen Succession, there’s no better time to watch! 

The series ended on HBO after four seasons in May 2023. 

The Umbrella Academy 

• Seasons: 4
• Created by Steve Blackman
• Cast: Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher, Justin H. Min, Ritu Arya, and more 

As I was writing about Succession, I realized The Umbrella Academy is also another family drama that fans of House of the Dragon will probably enjoy. The series is based on Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba’s graphic novel series of the same name. Steve Blackman brought the series to life on Netflix back in 2021, and the show ran for four seasons on the streamer through Aug. 8, 2024. 

The Umbrella Academy tells the story of the seven Hargreeves siblings, known as the Umbrella Academy, who come back together after their father’s death to save the world. 

The Umbrella Academy is one of my favorite Netflix shows of the last few years. It has a little bit of everything, honestly. It’s so much fun, but it’s so much more than that. The series has an incredible cast. If you’re one of those people who falls in love with the characters on House of the Dragon, be prepared to fall in love with these incredible characters.