HBO says 10 million people watched the House Of The Dragon premiere
It's also the biggest premiere in HBO history and HBO's most-watched show since the Game Of Thrones finale
There must be some slightly hesitant and cautiously optimistic sighs being let out at Warner Bros. Discovery HQ this evening, because the premiere of HBO’s House Of The Dragon pulled in what is apparently the biggest number of viewers for any premiere in the entire history of HBO. A press release from the premium cable network says that 10 million people watched Matt Smith mournfully have sex with that lady (HBO didn’t phrase it like that), and HBO’s Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys adds that “it was wonderful to see millions of Game Of Thrones fans return with us to Westeros last night.”
Granted, this is a TV network reporting on its own viewership numbers, which is always suspect, so it’s worth noting that House Of The Dragon had a lot in its favor that other big HBO shows have not had: It’s related to Game Of Thrones, which—finale aside—is still one of the biggest and most iconic TV shows ever made, and it has the benefit of debuting on HBO and HBO Max (which the original Game Of Thrones could not do, because HBO Max didn’t exist yet). Also: Matt Smith had mournful sex with a lady, which the Game Of Thrones pilot did not have!
The Hollywood Reporter also points out that this is the biggest audience HBO has had since Game Of Thrones ended, with the series finale getting over 19 million viewers in May of 2019. The highest since then—until now—was the season two finale of Euphoria, which got 6.6 million. This success comes as HBO Max has been having a pretty crummy summer, with new parent company Warner Bros. Discovery arguably bleeding it to death in an apparent attempt to save money. (Unless Warner Bros. Discovery is just a bloodthirsty creep like Matt Smith’s character in House Of The Dragon, who killed some people and showed very little regard for the rules of jousting in addition to… mournfully having sex.)
Now House Of The Dragon just has to keep this up for a few years, become a bigger hit than Game Of Thrones, and then HBO Max will be saved.