It’s been a good week for Game of Thrones fans. Not only did House of the Dragon premiere on HBO Max to a staggering 20 million views over its first four days on the streamer, but HBO has already greenlit a second season.
In an interview with Variety, Francesca Orsi, HBO’s executive vice president of programming, said of the season 2 renewal that “Our phenomenal cast and crew undertook a massive challenge and exceeded all expectations, delivering a show that has already established itself as must-see-TV. A huge thank you to George, Ryan, and Miguel for leading us on this journey. We couldn’t be more excited to continue bringing to life the epic saga of House Targaryen with season two.”
House of the Dragon, set roughly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, follows Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy and Milly Alcock) as she’s named heir to the iron throne, despite being a woman. Rhaenyra is thrust into a political struggle with her ambitious uncle, Daemon (Matt Smith), who has been passed over for the throne himself. The series shows the Targaryen dynasty at its height, as they command both dragons and the many houses of Westeros.
The series has gotten favorable reviews so far, with an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes’s Tomatometer. Our own Princess Weekes wrote that “I don’t know if House of the Dragon will please all Game of Thrones fans, but it is still a solid fantasy show. It doesn’t have a ‘throwing Bran out the window’ moment, but it doesn’t shy away from how incestuous the Targaryens were. It has something to say about gender, but even so, there isn’t much female solidarity. Nice to see dragons, though.”
The series premiered to a massive audience of nearly 10 million, the largest viewing audience for any new HBO show to date. Despite mixed feelings about how GoT progressed and ended, it’s clear there’s still a big interest in the property, so the renewal doesn’t come as much surprise. It does, however, show how fast HBO and their new Warner Bros. Discovery overlords can move when they know they’re working with a potentially huge hit.
The first episode of House of the Dragon is now steaming on HBO Max, with new episodes coming out every Sunday.
(image: HBO)
