It’s official, and it’s not surprising:
House of the Dragon is a hit for HBO.
The brand new series — which is a prequel Game of Thrones, set 172 years before events depicted on that iconic program — premiered this past Sunday night, August 21.
To historic numbers.
The well-reviewed show’s debut episode was watched by 9.986 million viewers across HBO and HBO Max … the largest audience for any new show in HBO’s history.
“It was wonderful to see millions of Game of Thrones fans return with us to Westeros last night,” said HBO chief content officer Casey Bloys.
“House of the Dragon features an incredibly talented cast and crew who poured their heart and soul into the production, and we’re ecstatic with viewers’ positive response.
“We look forward to sharing with audiences what else [creators] George, Ryan, and Miguel have in store for them this season.”
The wildly anticipated opener was also a major hit on social media, trending in the top spot on Twitter for a staggering 14 hours straight as fans awaited the new show.
House of the Dragon chronicles the beginning of the end of House Targaryen.
It will give viewers an idea of what led up to the Targaryen war of succession (also known as the Dance of the Dragons), those events that were hinted at in Game of Thrones during instances when characters discussed their world’s history.
Each episodes reportedly cost a minimum of $15 to produce.
Back in 2011, the first-ever Game of Thrones episode drew just 2.22 same-day viewers… long before it became one of the greatest phenomenons in television history.
It ended, in controversial and awful fashion, in May 2019.
Seriously, how terrible was that series finale?!?
House of the Dragon airs at 9/8c on Sunday nights on HBO.
The new series is loosely based on George R. R. Martin’s Fire & Blood novel and it stars:
- Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen
- Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen
- Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen
- Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower
- Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower
- Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon AKA The Sea Snake
- Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen
- Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole
- Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria
