House Of The Dragon is based on George R.R. Martin’s 2018 novel Fire & Blood. The series takes place nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. And it chronicles the Targaryen civil war of succession known as the Dance of the Dragons. The prequel show has found a massive audience on HBO, in addition to receiving rave reviews from critics and audiences alike.
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House of the Dragon premiered in August to a record-breaking audience for an HBO series debut. And it was quickly renewed for a second season. Since then, despite significant changes such as repeated time jumps and recastings, House of the Dragon’s viewership has fluctuated but steadily increased. Overall, the massive audience of the show accounts for an average of 29 million viewers per episode across cable and streaming platforms.
House Of The Dragon finale becomes HBO’s most-watched
The ratings for the House of the Dragon season 1 finale are in, a day after it aired. According to Warner Bros. Discovery (via Variety), Episode 10, titled “The Black Queen,” was seen by 9.3 million viewers, making it HBO’s most-watched season finale since Game of Thrones season 8 closed with 19.8 million viewers in 2019. On the night in question, the total comprises HBO cable channel and HBO Max viewers.
The House of the Dragon season 1 finale concluded a debut season that defied expectations. The venomous reaction to Game of Thrones season 8 raised fears that future sequels would alienate a segment of the fanbase. This has not been the case with House of the Dragon. Based on its strong start, it has the potential to not only match but possibly surpass Game of Thrones season 8‘s average of 44 million viewers per episode.
