As evidenced by the 9.3 million viewers for the House of the Dragon season 1 finale on Sunday, Westeros continues to hold fans’ attention. The number of viewers includes those who viewed the episode during its four broadcasts on HBO’s cable channel as well as during HBO Max streams on Sunday night. Overall, with 19.8 million viewers, Episode 10 (named “The Black Queen”) is HBO’s most popular series finale since the end of Game of Thrones in May 2019. This draws a clear comparison to the episode’s premiere, which broke HBO’s record for viewership with almost 10 million people.
On George R.R. Martin’s 2018 book Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon is based. The collapse of the mighty House Targaryen serves as the central theme of the television series, which is set about 200 years before Game of Thrones. King Viserys Targaryen names Princess Rhaenyra as his heir when a male heir to the throne has not yet appeared. Before Viserys’ second wife, Alicent Hightower, has a boy to be his successor, the first season spans a number of years while his health deteriorates. The show then continues with the subsequent internal politics, violence, and manipulation that made Game of Thrones such a must-watch.
Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans are among the actors who appear in the programme. Ryan Condal, who serves as co-showrunner along with director Miguel Sapochnik, and Martin are the show’s creators. Along with Sara Hess, Jocelyn Diaz, Vince Gerardis, and Ron Schmidt, executive producers include Martin, Condal, and Sapochnik.
In addition to generating significant viewership for HBO, the series has received positive reviews. The depth and intensity that Considine (King Viserys), D’Arcy (Princess Rhaenyra), and Smith (Prince Daemon) bring to their performances have received particular attention.
“We’re so happy to see House of the Dragon take fire with Game of Thrones fans around the world, even new viewers who are experiencing the world of Westeros for the 1st time,” said Casey Bloys, Chairman & CEO of HBO and HBO Max in a statement. I’d want to congratulate George, Ryan, Miguel, and the entire House of the Dragon team on an amazing debut season. The first season of HBO Max’s House of the Dragon is presently streaming, and in early 2023, filming for the second season is scheduled to start in Spain.