“House of the Dragon” Torches Previous Records & Becomes HBO’s Biggest Premiere Ever
It should surprise no one that viewers were ready to return to Westeros.
House of the Dragon pulled in 9.986 million viewers across all platforms to become HBO’s biggest premiere ever. It also now stands as the largest launch on HBO Max. And, as these things tend to go, House of the Dragon didn’t just dominate viewers attention on TV—it was also the longest trending topic on Twitter, ranking #1 for 14 straight hours, and was the #1 trending item on Google Trends.
“It was wonderful to see millions of Game of Thrones fans return with us to Westeros last night,” said Casey Bloys, Chief Content Officer, HBO & HBO Max, in a statement. “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.”
George, Ryan, and Miguel are George R. R. Martin, executive producer and the brainchild behind the entire world through his novels, co-creator and co-showrunner Ryan Condal, and co-creator, co-showrunner, and director Miguel Sapochnik. Condal and Sapochnik are also executive producers on the series.
This return to Westeros took us back to a time some 200 years before the events depicted in Game of Thrones, centering on House Targaryen, the family of blonde-haired, blue-eyed, dragon-riding rulers who once had the entire seven kingdoms under their command. (They are also, of course, the clan that gave us Daenerys Targaryen.) In fact, House of the Dragon swallowed the original Game of Thrones premiere viewership total with ease—when GoT bowed in 2011, it drew in 2.22 million same-day viewers. This was before Game of Thrones became a global phenomenon and made the existence of House of the Dragon an inevitability.
The interest in House of the Dragon also lured viewers back to Game of Thrones, with the original series capping off its strongest week ever on HBO Max after a seven-week stretch of growth in the lead-up to the House of the Dragon premiere.
For more on House of the Dragon, check out these stories:
Inside The Fiery First Episode of “House of the Dragon”
Dragons Reign Supreme in New “House of the Dragon” Teaser
New “House of the Dragon” Images Tease a Westeros Filled With Dragons
First “House of the Dragon” Reactions Hail “Game of Thrones” Prequel as Worthy Successor
“House of the Dragon” Trailer Promises a GoT Prequel Worthy of Westeros
“House of the Dragon” Video Reveals New Dragons & a New Reign
Featured image: “House of the Dragon.” Photograph by Courtesy HBO
