HBO's House Of The Dragon Replacement Series Releases Next Week
House of the Dragon season 3 is almost over, but HBO already has its perfect replacement series lined up, and that show will debut next week. 2026 has proven itself a great year for Game of Thrones spinoffs. Earlier this year we had the debut of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which showed how this fantasy franchise can present a huge variety.
After all, that series was far more light-hearted than House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, even though it had quite a few intense and dark moments. It also focused on the smaller characters that inhabit George R. R. Martin's Westeros far more. Now, House of the Dragon season 3 has delivered the most action-packed series of the franchise's first spinoff thus far.
Several characters have died, major moves have been made, and plenty of surprising twists played out in the first seven episodes of House of the Dragon season 3. There is only one episode left before the season calls it a day, and it is coming this Sunday, August 9. While many will be said to see the show enter another hiatus, a replacement is on the way.
HBO's replacement for House of the Dragon is not a fantasy series or another Game of Thrones spinoff. Instead, it is Lanterns, a new live-action series set within James Gunn's DC Universe. There are plenty of reasons to watch the Green Lantern show when it debuts on HBO next week, and House of the Dragon fans should give it a try.
Lanterns Will Take Over House Of The Dragon's Spot At HBO
Currently, House of the Dragon season 3 is the prestige HBO series airing on its premium Sunday night slot, which is usually reserved for event series, such as Game of Thrones, Westworld, The White Lotus, Succession, and more did before it. House of the Dragon will be followed by Lanterns in that slot, with DC's new Green Lantern series airing its first episode on August 16, at 9:00 PM ET. Adding to that, HBO's Lanterns is arriving exactly one week after the final episode of House of the Dragon season 3, which makes the connection between them clear.
Lanterns might not be a fantasy series, but it is HBO's House of the Dragon replacement as a prestige Sunday night show, debuting a week after season 3 finishes, which ensures that viewers will have no gaps in event series. Lanterns is the only live-action series set to come from DC this year, which makes it as high-profile a series as it gets. It also follows two of the biggest heroes from DC Comics, making it a must-watch for fans of the genre. For all of those reasons, it deserves its spot as HBO's next prestige series.
Why DC's Lanterns Is Worth Watching On HBO
The House of the Dragon replacement has been billed by DC Studios co-CEO's Gunn and Peter Safran as similar to HBO's hit True Detective. Instead of being a cosmic adventure, the new DCU series will primarily take place on Earth, following Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan as he reluctantly trains Aaron Pierre's John Stewart while they investigate a mystery in a small town that Hal believes is related to aliens. The show will merge the dark atmosphere and grit of True Detective with the Green Lanterns Corps' fantastical lore from the comics, making it a unique series on HBO.
Lanterns is also the first proper live-action Green Lantern project since the 2011 movie with Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan failed to excite. It features three major human Green Lanterns, with Nathan Fillion also returning as Guy Gardner after making his DCU debut in 2025's Superman. Adding to all those exciting elements, Lanterns is also worth watching on HBO due to its star-studded lineup of creators, which includes Damon Lindelof (Lost), Chris Mundy (Ozark), and Tom King (Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow). Lanterns emerges as HBO's perfect House of the Dragon replacement.