House of the Dragon is HBO’s Biggest Series Premiere
HBO’s House of the Dragon has become HBO’s Biggest Series Premiere. It has even increased the Game of Thrones view tremendously allowing the numbers to be close.
According to article, “Game Of Thrones Is Somehow Getting More Viewers Than House Of The Dragon”, “When the first episode of House of the Dragon dropped, it pulled in nearly 10 million people across all platforms, making it HBO’s biggest series premiere ever. The second episode saw an increase in viewers with 10.2 million, and the total number of viewers continues to increase with each additional episode.”
What is House of the Dragon?
House of the Dragon is the first ever Game of Thrones spinoff series. HBO’s House of the Dragon story is set at the height of the Targaryen reign during a world-changing Civil War, and it contains numerous Game of Thrones references. Following Game of Thrones’ polarizing series finale in 2019, HBO publicly stated the chance of several spinoffs based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire works.
The narrative opens with a brief history on the Targaryen family’s great ancestor Aegon the Conqueror, who defined their rule over the Seven Kingdoms. Jaeherys I, the future king and grandson of Aegon, struggled with the problem of not being able to have children. Ultimately, Jaeherys I had to decide between his grandson Viserys and his granddaughter Rhaenys. The future king made Viserys his choice after consulting a patriarchal council.
Cast
Radio Times shares the main cast members and an analysis:
- Paddy Considine– King Viserys I Targaryen
- Matt Smith– Prince Daemon Targaryen
- Olivia Cooke– Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower
- Emma D’Arcy– Queen Rhaenyra I Targaryen
- Rhys Ifans– Ser Otto Hightower
- Steve Toussaint– Lord Corlys Velaryon
- Eve Best– Princess Rhaenys Targaryen
- Sonoya Mizuno– Mysaria
- Fabien Frankel– Ser Criston Cole
- Milly Alcock– young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen
- Emily Carey– young Lady Alicent Hightower
- Graham McTavish– Ser Harrold Westerling
- Matthew Needham– Lord Larys Strong
- Jefferson Hall– Lord Jason Lannister and Ser Tyland Lannister
- Harry Collett– Prince Jacaerys Velaryon
- Tom Glynn-Carney– King Aegon II Targaryen
- Ewan Mitchell– Prince Aemond Targaryen
- Bethany Antonia– Lady Baela Targaryen
- Phoebe Campbell– Lady Rhaena Targaryen
- Phia Saban– Queen Helaena Targaryen
Analytics
The year’s most-watched premiere on all premium cable and streaming platforms, House of the Dragon made a stunning debut. A total of 2.6 million homes watched House of the Dragon. For perspective, Stranger Things on Netflix, which debuted season four, attracted 1.2 million households on day one.
On Vulture, “A Lotta People Watched House of the Dragon“ was recently posted by Josef Adalian, fixating on the idea that so many people have been watching HOD. The writer shares that more viewers are to be accounted for within the next month as people continue to binge.
Adalian shared, “Meanwhile, the 10 million viewer figure released today is expected to grow exponentially over the next few weeks as more people catch up with the show or do their own mini-binges. HBO noted that premiere-night numbers typically represent just 20 to 40 percent of a show’s overall audience during the course of a season, suggesting the HOTD premiere will eventually be seen by well over 20 million viewers in the United States.”
CNN Business’s Frank Pallota emphasizes that this success was made during a difficult, stiff time of the week. House of the Dragon defied odds. That achievement occurs despite fierce competition. NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” one of television’s most popular programs, was up against HOD. It’s difficult to draw a crowd during NFL games, but like its forerunner, HOD succeeded every week. The show has indeed been renewed for a second season.
The Impact of HOD
A large discussion has come about post-release, is House of the Dragon or Game of Thrones better? Vulture has sparked discussion on this debate within Jen Chaney’s “Who Did It Better — House of the Dragon or Game of Thrones?” article.
Chaney had a unique take on the show within her comparison. She shared an interesting statement to compare the start of each show, “That’s a key difference between these two first episodes. Game of Thrones allows action to unfold and trusts the audience to absorb the relevant details, while House of the Dragon (in that opener and elsewhere) spends a lot of time dumping information that it deems important.”
She comments furthermore on the endings, “The ending of “Winter Is Coming” kicks the ass of that of “The Heirs of the Dragon.””
What’s Happening with Game of Thrones?
This prequel series takes place roughly 200 years before the events of the first Game of Thrones. This show reminds people what they love about Game of Thrones, but also allows new watchers to follow the correct timeline. Either way, it’s a win.
It’s interesting to note that before the premiere of the pilot, there wasn’t as much buzz surrounding House Of The Dragon. The poor reception of Game of Thrones’ final season, which aired in 2019, can be blamed for a large portion of it.
Following the release of the House of the Dragon, the views have gone up for Game of Thrones, but so has the Season 8 slander. Screenrant shares an article of what specifically went wrong with season 8. Yet, many viewers of HOD are new to the GOT franchise and are watching it chronologically on the timeline. This has allowed many viewers who recently binged HOD to move onto GOT. A lot of viewers have finished GOT or are nearing the controversial season 8 which results in more talk on its worthiness.
The series shares a fantastic story overall with a lot of mixed reviews for the end of the timeline so far. Some say its salvageable, while others think it could be dead.
