Warner Bros. Discovery announced on Monday that 9.986 million viewers across linear and HBO Max platforms watched the premiere of the prequel series "House of the Dragon" on Sunday night, following in the footsteps of the mega-hit "Game of Thrones."
It appears that fans of the high fantasy series were attracted enough to watch the opening episode, resulting in HBO's largest series launch in its history.
According to HBO, this is the largest audience for any new original series in the network's history.
Typically, between 20 and 40 percent of a show's total audience watches an HBO program on Sunday evening, according to the company.
"House of the Dragon" recounts the Targaryen civil war that occurred around two centuries before the events shown in "Game of Thrones."
It is based on the novel "Fire and Blood" by George R.R. Martin. This book, unlike the others in Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series, is narrated by an omniscient narrator who recounts the history of the characters based on gathered reports of events.
In some instances, these accounts contradict one another, and there are different versions of the occurrences.
As of Monday afternoon, "House of the Dragon" maintains an 83% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 413 reviews. The 2011 premiere of the first season of "Game of Thrones" received a 90% "Fresh" rating.
In reality, every season until the final one had a score more than 90%. The eighth season received a 55% rating.
The stakes are high for "House of the Dragon," which debuted on HBO and HBO Max at a time when newly appointed CEO David Zaslav is attempting to reduce excess fat.
At the freshly merged firm, cost-cutting tactics have become the norm, including layoffs and the deletion of content from HBO Max.
Warner Bros. Discovery is attempting to save money by consolidating its streaming services, an expensive and time-consuming endeavor.
The second installment in the Game of Thrones series, "House of the Dragon," has a lot to prove and live up to.
The final season of "Game of Thrones" left a foul taste in the mouths of many viewers, as the showrunners went beyond the material created by author Martin, who has yet to complete the plot in his books.
Analysts, investors, and, most crucially, Warner Bros. Discovery officials will continue to closely monitor "House of the Dragon's" viewership data to determine if the 10-episode series can maintain its momentum.
