House of the Dragons is an instant smash. The prequel to HBO’s uber-popular series Game of Thrones premiered on Sunday and nearly drew 10 million viewers for episode 1.
According to Variety, House of the Dragons brought in 9.99 million viewers on HBO and HBO Max when it premiered this past weekend. The combined number includes linear airings and streams during premiere night.
House of the Dragon debut is also the largest audience in HBO’s history, including pre-streaming era shows. In comparison, Game of Thrones premiered to an audience of 4.2 million in 2011.
Based on George R.R. Martin’s 2018 book “Fire & Blood,” House of the Dragon is a fantasy series that chronicles the history of House Targaryen and is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. The series stars Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno and Rhys Ifans.
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