HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel TV series titled House of the Dragon is rising in viewership with each episode. It is great to see a work of fantasy fiction originally written by George R.R. Martin become so globally loved. Both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon have made epic fantasy literature highly liked and available to the mainstream.
So let us take a look at just how popular House of the Dragon really is and how it compares to its predecessor Game of Thrones.
House of the Dragon View Count
HBO’s House of the Dragon has been amassing quite the viewership numbers. The recent episodes have been averaging around 29 million views per episode according to Variety. And this is just in the US. Among other things, this is widely due to the availability of HBO Max which pulls in numbers the likes of Netflix and Prime Video, even more on occasion.
The pilot episode of HotD pulled in around 10 million viewers in the first few days of release. This is a remarkable number for any fantasy genre show that do not usually amass such a viewership. Of course, House of the Dragon has the added benefit of following Game of Thrones, one of the most popular HBO shows globally.
The 29 million number in question is average as mentioned. When you look at the view counts of each episode, for example on Variety, you will be able to see that each episode has an increasingly wider audience. As an example, the increase amounts to around 5% for episode 4 and 3% for episode 5. The later episodes where we see a 10-year time skip are also doing well considering shows that swiftly change actors throughout the season receive fewer views.
House of the Dragon has established a strong course, and it keeps improving. Several seasons have already been announced once the first one is done.
House of the Dragon vs Game of Thrones
As all of us that follow TV show trends know, Game of Thrones was one of the highest-rated and most-watched TV series on HBO. Arguably the claim holds to this day. So how does House of the Dragon compare?
In terms of viewership, Game of Thrones amassed around 9.3 million viewers per episode throughout its first session in 2011. This is of course much different today, but let us compare the two shows in their opening weeks. Now, House of the Dragon’s view count during the first few episodes was around 10 million and more. Therefore, the two shows compare quite decently. Though, it must be mentioned that the opening audiences for Game of Thrones were largely fans of the books. On the other hand, it can be said that the opening audience for House of the Dragon could simply be the fans of the Game of Thrones show. So, the higher numbers recorded for the HotD opening might come from there.
Furthermore, when it comes to the stylistic approach, themes, and quality, both shows have slower openings. The main difference is that Game of Thrones sought to tell an epic tale affecting the whole world. House of the Dragon takes a much smaller approach recounting the civil war between the Targaryen family. That being said, both shows deal with subtle political intrigue and feature amazing performances, writing, costumes, and music. Granted, House of the Dragon does slightly differentiate itself for its time skips and cast changes.
What Makes House of the Dragon so Popular?
Simply put, the reason is the show’s highly-talented cast, good writing, and the Game of Thrones legacy. Using HBO MAX, viewers can stream House of the Dragon globally and enjoy it on their own time. Furthermore, the casting team did an incredible job as greatly talented actors were hired to portray G.R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood storyline characters.
Each episode is almost theatrical in its approach, dialogue-focused and immersive. This is fitting considering many of the actors behind the main cast have theatre backgrounds. The writing is superb with strong lines that showcase the character’s ambitions and personalities quite well. Everything is hugely complimented by superb costume and set design. Not to mention the epic music.
Overall, the show has a bright future ahead. The legacy of Game of Thrones is in good hands. The only up-and-coming issue is that the first season is ending soon and at least a year will pass until the next one. Fans of House of the Dragon, and Game of Thrones in general, can enjoy various other branded adaptions of the franchise to fill in the time. There are many adaptions of the franchise in other media such as board games, video games, and even a branded Game of Thrones online slot game. Whatever your preferred Game of Thrones leisure time is, enjoy it to pass the time until the next episode of House of the Dragon.