HBO has been developingGame of Thronesspinoffs since before the main series concluded. AndHouse of the Dragonis the first to reach the small screen. There was great speculation about whether the prequel series would have the same impact as its predecessor.
Game of Throneswas once the most popular television show in the world. But its last season received mostly poor reviews. As a result, it was unclear whether this would turn off some viewers ofHouse of the Dragon. Based on the early statistics, it hasn’t in the slightest.
‘House of the Dragon’ makes the biggest HBO debut
According to HBO,House of the Dragon‘s Sunday night premiere attracted 9.986 million viewers across linear and streaming platforms. That’s about 8 million more viewers than it attracted for its 2011 debut ofGame of Thrones(2.22 million viewers).House of the Dragonstill managed to dominate its debut despite a number of reported outages and problems for some viewers using particular apps.
Before and during its premiere, the show dominated social media platforms and received positive word-of-mouth and reviews. Casey Bloys, Chief Content Officer at HBO & HBO Max, in response to the network’s historic launch, said:
It was wonderful to see millions of ‘Game of Thrones’ fans return with us to Westeros last night. ‘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 George, Ryan, and Miguel have in store for them this season.
Only three years have passed sinceGame of Thronesruled the cable and streaming airwaves. AndHouse of the Dragonhas already shown that the brand is still going strong. There is still a lot of love for the rest of the universe, whichGame of Thronesmanaged to capture the zeitgeist throughout its eight-season run, even though many fans were disappointed by the series finale.
IfHouse of the Dragonmanages to maintain this level of viewership throughout the first season, it will likely break more HBO records and spur the production of moreGame of Thronesspinoffs to maintain the momentum.
