The highly anticipated GOT prequel, House of the Dragon scored the largest audience ever to tune in to a TV premiere episode.
Making its TV debut on Sunday (August 21), the long-awaited Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon captured the attention of 9.986 million viewers worldwide, as they tuned in for the series premiere, making it the largest audience for any new original series in the history of HBO. This blew GOT premiere viewership numbers, which were at 2.22 million views in 2011, completely out of the water.
Casey Bloys, Chief Content Officer of HBO & HBO Max, 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.”
The highlight of the series thus far is Matt Smith, known best for his role as Dr. Who, and for his mesmerizing turn as Prince Phillip in The Crown, has blown away any conceptions of being a good guy, in his chilling portrayal of King Viserys’ younger brother, Daemon.
Matt Smith discussed his special relationship with the King and his niece, whom he bonds with in episode one. He tells Total Film, “I think there’s only really two people in the whole kingdom apart from his dragons, that he will sort of concede to. And one of them is Rhaenyra and the other is his brother. I think, you know, there’s a deep affection and intimate understanding of one another, really – more so than he has with any other characters.”
It will be interesting to watch these relationships in House of the Dragon develop over time. No doubt, George R. R. Martin has something perfectly scandalous up his crazy talented sleeve. Hopefully, there is a lot less misogyny, because after all, it’s fiction, not actual history, and that old trope is surely becoming a thing of the past.
i think it's very funny that the house of the dragon guys are like "we want to reflect the misogyny of the time period" the time period is the twelfth of makebelieve. it's the 149th year of sir gooby the dragonfoot. it's the eighth age of targabargabor. it's literally made up
— Thing Bad (@Merman_Melville) August 22, 2022
"the only thing that could tear down the house of the dragon was itself." #HouseoftheDragon #HOTD pic.twitter.com/o4gWZWjBBc
— blythe. (@AccioButtercup) August 22, 2022
The first episode of #HouseOfTheDragonHBO drew in nearly 10 million viewers across HBO and HBO Max, making it the biggest HBO series premiere ever.https://t.co/WvIWWwal8x pic.twitter.com/QgWtjFg8j8
— Variety (@Variety) August 22, 2022
