The Sunday evening premiere of “Home of the Dragon,” the much-anticipated “Recreation of Thrones” spinoff, was the most-watched episode of an HBO sequence since … “Recreation of Thrones,” the cable community mentioned on Monday.
HBO mentioned 10 million viewers had watched the episode throughout its platforms, together with the cable community and its streaming service, HBO Max. Cable-only viewership totals, that are equipped by Nielsen, won’t be made public till Tuesday morning.
The viewership was the most important begin for a sequence in HBO historical past, the community mentioned. A powerful debut from “Home of the Dragon” is a supply of consolation to HBO executives, and could also be proof that viewers are craving extra tales from Westeros. HBO has not less than 5 different “Thrones” spinoff concepts in growth.
Casey Bloys, the chief content material officer of HBO, mentioned in an announcement that he was “ecstatic with viewers’ constructive response.”
The final time “Recreation of Thrones” aired, in Might 2019, the sequence shattered viewership information but additionally suffered from a last-season backlash from critics and followers. Some individuals related to the present — together with the author who created the “Thrones” universe, George R.R. Martin — had been involved that the backlash would flip off viewers from giving “Home of the Dragon” an opportunity. The prequel takes place some 200 years earlier than the occasions of the unique sequence.
“Home of the Dragon,” which benefited from a lavish advertising marketing campaign, has 9 extra episodes this season. HBO executives will rigorously monitor if some viewers pattern the sequence and transfer on to one thing else. In early September, Amazon will premiere its personal splashy fantasy sequence, “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Energy.”
“I believe the present will do rather well,” Mr. Bloys mentioned in an interview final month. “But it surely must do the work by itself to carry individuals in and to maintain the viewership.”
The numbers for “Home of the Dragon” had been considerably larger than they had been for the finale of “Euphoria,” the sequence that HBO mentioned was its most-watched present since “Recreation of Thrones.” The “Euphoria” finale scored 6.6 million viewers in February, and the second season averaged greater than 16 million, HBO mentioned.
The “Home of the Dragon” complete additionally dwarfed the third-season finale of HBO’s “Succession,” which led all sequence in Emmy nominations this 12 months. That episode, which aired in December, averaged 1.7 million viewers, a report for “Succession,” the community mentioned.
