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Westeros came back to\u00a0HBO\u00a0last night with the series premiere of \u201cHouse of the Dragon\u201d \u2014 and brought the masses along with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHouse of the Dragon\u201d drew in 9.99 million viewers across HBO and\u00a0HBO Max\u00a0after premiering with one episode on Sunday, according to Warner Bros. Discovery. This viewership tally includes linear airings, as well as HBO Max streams during premiere night.<\/p>\n
HBO says \u201cHouse of the Dragon\u201d drew the largest audience in the pay TV channel\u2019s history, including content that debuted before the streaming era, as well as HBO shows that have since premiered on defunct digital platforms HBO Now and HBO Go, as well as their successor HBO Max.<\/p>\n
\u201cGame of Thrones\u201d has remained HBO\u2019s biggest hit of all time since concluding in 2019, and as its prequel series, \u201cHouse of the Dragon\u201d is arguably the project to get the most\u00a0marketing\u00a0and\u00a0fanfare\u00a0from the network since. <\/p>\n
As a result, the series premiere \u201cHeirs of the Dragons\u201d outperformed the \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d series premiere, which brought in 4.2 million viewers in 2011. <\/p>\n
And while its perhaps unfair to compare \u201cHouse of the Dragon\u201d to the heights its predecessor eventually reached \u2014 \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d was watched by a record-breaking 17.9 million people with the premiere of its eighth and final season \u2014 there\u2019s another, more recent HBO series that\u2019s worth including in the conversation.<\/p>\n
Sam Levinson\u2019s \u201cEuphoria\u201d is not only HBO\u2019s biggest show of 2022 thus far: It\u00a0became the network\u2019s second-most-watched series of all time after \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d in February\u00a0thanks to the run of its second season. And while viewership increased from the beginning of the season to the end \u2014 a rare and impressive feat \u2014 its premiere episode was\u00a0watched by 2.4 million people,\u00a076% less than \u201cHouse of the Dragon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHouse of the Dragon\u201d is based on George R.R. Martin\u2019s 2018 novel \u201cFire & Blood.\u201d The series is set 200 years before the events of \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d and tells the story of House Targaryen. <\/p>\n
Leading cast members include Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D\u2019Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno and Rhys Ifans. Martin co-created the series with Ryan Condal, who serves as co-showrunner with director Miguel Sapochnik. Martin, Condal and Sapochnik all executive produce alongside Sara Hess, Jocelyn Diaz, Vince Gerardis and Ron Schmidt.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was wonderful to see millions of \u2018Game of Thrones\u2019 fans return with us to Westeros last night,\u201d said Casey Bloys, chief content officer of HBO and HBO Max. \u201c\u2018House of the Dragon\u2019 features an incredibly talented cast and crew who poured their heart and soul into the production, and we\u2019re ecstatic with viewers\u2019 positive response. <\/p>\n
We look forward to sharing with audiences what else George, Ryan and Miguel have in store for them this season.\u201d<\/p>\n
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