Remember when Game of Thrones laid an egg in its final season and hordes of fans vowed they were done with the franchise forever? It seems like some of them might’ve been lying. The show’s long-awaited prequel, House of the Dragon, just set a new record for HBO with its massive premiere: 9.986 million viewers, according to IndieWire. Looks like people still love their tits and dragons after all.
House of the Dragon’s massive premiere marks the largest ever for an HBO original. As expected, the prequel’s premiere blew its progenitor’s out of the water: Game of Thrones premiered in 2011 to a viewership of just 4.152 million “live” viewers.
Putting aside the massive built-in Game of Thrones audience that helped House of the Dragon take flight, it’s worth remembering that HBO itself was deeply invested in this show’s success. As in, the company reportedly spent more than $100 million on marketing—a budget normally reserved, as Deadline notes, for theatrical tentpoles. (Reminder: All your favorite shows are allegedly disappearing from HBO Max as we speak because higher-ups like David Zaslav doesn’t want to pay their creators’ residuals—a cute look for everyone involved!)
Evidently, marketing works. But how is the actual show? (For those who need a refresher of who the Targaryens even are, here’s a useful catch-up primer.) On one hand, some viewers will likely be relieved to hear that the show remains as raucous, rowdy, and raunchy as ever. If you’re looking for something that expands upon or outdoes the original, however, you’ll likely be disappointed. That said, this show will get you asking the important questions—chief among them, “Wait, what do dragons smell like?”
