'House of the Dragon' premiere creates HBO viewership record, clocks 10 million views

HBO's new fantasy drama and the much-awaited spinoff of 'Game of Thrones', 'House of the Dragon', is out in the wild. And as per media reports, the premiere episode has undone everything the network has ever released. As per the New York Times, HBO said the episode, titled "The Heirs of the Dragon", clocked an incredible 10 million views across various platforms, including HBO (cable network) and HBO Max. This is more than any 'Game of Thrones' episode, even the series finale and any of the season finales. This is interesting as it means the fans are still into the franchise despite the way the original series ended.

Co-created by Ryan J. Condal and George RR Martin, the originator of the books on which the series are based, the show takes place hundreds of years before the original story. While 'House of the Dragon' also features a struggle for the Iron Throne, this one is a conflict within the Targaryen house. And this one has lots of dragons since 200 years before Robert's Rebellion, dragons had not gone extinct, but only the Targaryens had them.

Also Read:'House of the Dragon' premiere review: Not as fun as 'Game of Thrones', but still pretty damn good

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The story is based on the book by George RR Martin called 'Fire & Blood'. It explores a seminal event in the history of Westeros called the Dance of Dragons in which Targaryen rivals fought a bitter yet spectacular war involving massive dragon battles.

Paddy Considine (Viserys Targaryen), Emma D’Arcy (Rhaenyra Targaryen), Matt Smith (Daemon Targaryen), Olivia Cooke (Alicent Hightower), Milly Alcock (young Rhaenyra), Emily Carey (young Alicent), , Rhys Ifans (Otto Hightower), Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon), Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen), Fabien Frankel (Criston Cole), and Sonoya Mizuno (Mysaria) star in 'House of the Dragon'.

WION's review of the premiere episode read, 'House of the Dragon' is no match for the early 'Game of Thrones' as the characters and the plot are not nearly interesting enough yet, but it also feels fresh despite it all being the same world. The stakes here are also higher than, say, the first couple of seasons of 'GoT'. The subsequent episodes should deliver in the spectacle aspect after the fantasy version of dogfights (dragon-on-dragon combat) ensue."