The highly anticipated Game of Thrones (GOT) spinoff House of the Dragon arrived on the mega streamer HBO on 21 August 2022 and immediately broke records.
As per HBO, the premiere episode of the series, titled “The Heirs of the Dragon,” brought the biggest viewership (across linear and HBO Max platforms) with roughly 10 million people tuning in in the US.
Here are all the details about the record set by the premiere episode of House of the Dragon for HBO
Viewers of the latest HBO addition faced some glitches due to the inordinate numbers joining in to watch the first episode. Nevertheless, as compared to GOT’s premiere episode, which recorded 2.2 million viewers, the prequel defeated the original. With 9.98 million viewers, “The Heirs of the Dragon” stands right behind the GOT finale, which brought HBO 19.3 million viewers, as of May 2019.
The popularity of George R.R. Martin’s adapted drama is also creating a buzz for the original series that is now available to stream in 4K on HBO Max by inviting an impressive number of streamers.
What the first episode shows
With multiple dragons flying across the screens, “The Heirs of the Dragon” showed the ongoing tension in the Targaryen clan over who would succeed King Viserys I Targaryen. Daemon, the younger brother of the King, was supposed to be the successor. However, Viserys chooses his daughter as the heir to the Iron Throne. While all the houses pledge their allegiance to Rhaenyra, a disgruntled Daemon takes off on his dragon, Caraxes.
About House of the Dragon
The American fantasy drama is set 200 years prior to the original series, which began in 2011 and aired its final episode in 2019.
House of the Dragon explores the beginning of the end of the House Targaryen and the events causing the ‘Dance of Dragons,’ the Targaryen war of succession.
Partially adapted from parts of the novel Fire & Blood, the prequel went into development in 2018, while the cast lineup began to build two years later.
The successful cast includes Paddy Considine as King Viserys I Targaryen, Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower and Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower.
(Hero and Featured images: HBO)
