'House of the Dragon' Season 1 finale SHATTERS viewership records for HBO since 'Game of Thrones' finale
After ten weeks of enthralling storytelling, HBO’s epic fantasy drama ‘House of the Dragon’ came to a scintillating end with an extraordinary final episode. The series, which takes place 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen, chronicles the Targaryen civil war of succession known as the Dance of the Dragons. The 'Game of Thrones' prequel earned universal acclaim from critics and audiences, earning massive viewership in the initial part of the show and making it one of the biggest shows on the planet.
However, the finale made sure that viewers were on the edge of their seats throughout the episode and ended in such a way that now they can’t wait for Season 2 to arrive. The final episode aired on Sunday, October 23, and the ratings for the tenth episode are finally in. According to Warner Bros Discovery, the first season of ‘House of the Dragon’ concluded with 9.3 million viewers across all platforms, based on a combination of Nielsen and first-party data. The numbers are quite impressive because it faced a lot of stiff competition from Sunday night football and the final of the Major Baseball League.
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This was the biggest finale night for an HBO series since the conclusion of ‘Game of Thrones’. A total of 19.8 million viewers tuned up for the finale of Season 8. However, in regions such as Latin America, Europe, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, ‘House of the Dragon’ surpassed ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 8 in terms of viewership and made it the most-viewed HBO title ever.
A few weeks ago it was reported that the first season of ‘House of the Dragon’ was averaging 29 million viewers per episode. Meanwhile, the viewership kept on increasing episode-wise throughout the season.
The final episode of Season 1 showcased two tragedies that took place in Princess Rhaenyra’s life. On one hand, she gives birth to a dead baby and on the other, her second son from her first marriage, Prince Lucerys Targaryen, gets killed by his brother’s dragon, Vhagar. The season ended on a massive cliffhanger as Rhaenyra looked like she was getting ready for the war and she is set to take revenge on Alicent, her family, and all of her supporters.
‘House of the Dragon’ has already been renewed for Season 2 and it’s been reported that the filming for the upcoming edition will start in 2023. The second season was announced five days after the premiere of Season 1.