The premiere of “House of the Dragon,” the long-awaited “Game of Thrones” spin-off, which aired Sunday night, became the most-watched episode of an HBO series since... “Game of Thrones,” the cable network announced Monday.
HBO stated that 10 million viewers watched the episode across all its platforms, including the cable network and the HBO Max streaming service. Final viewership figures for cable television alone, provided by Nielsen, will not be released until Tuesday morning.
According to HBO representatives, this figure marks the biggest premiere for a series in HBO’s history. The strong debut of “House of the Dragon” is a source of delight for HBO executives and may indicate that viewers are eager for more stories from Westeros. HBO has at least five other ideas for *Game of Thrones* spin-offs in development.
Casey Bloys, HBO’s chief content officer, said in a statement that he is “thrilled by the positive audience response.”
“Game of Thrones” last aired in May 2019 and broke viewership records, but it also faced negative reactions from critics and fans last season. Some people associated with the series, including George R.R. Martin, the author who created the “Game of Thrones” universe, were concerned that the negative reaction would turn viewers away from “House of the Dragon” and that they wouldn’t give it a chance. The prequel is set approximately 200 years before the events of the original series.
“House of the Dragon,” which has benefited from a generous marketing campaign, has nine more episodes left this season. HBO executives will be watching closely to see if any viewers switch to something else after giving the series a try. In early September, Amazon will premiere its own spectacular fantasy series, “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.”
“I think the show will be very successful,” Mr. Bloys said in an interview last month. “But it will have to stand on its own to attract people and retain viewers.”
The viewership numbers for “House of the Dragon” were significantly higher than those for the finale of “Euphoria,” a series that, according to HBO, became the most popular show since “Game of Thrones.” The “Euphoria” finale in February drew 6.6 million viewers, while the second season averaged over 16 million, according to HBO.
The overall viewership for “House of the Dragon” also eclipsed the season 3 finale of “House of the Heirs,” which topped this year’s list of Emmy nominations among all series. That episode, which aired in December, averaged 1.7 million viewers, a record for “Game of Thrones,” the network reports.
ПРЕМ'ЄРА 2 СЕЗОНУ 16 ЧЕРВНЯ 2024 РОКУ — HBO
