House of the Dragon is a bonafide hit for HBO.
The ratings are in for House of the Dragon Season 1 Episode 2, and the series experienced some growth.
One week after launching as the most-watched HBO series premiere ever, the Game of Thrones spinoff spiked 2% to 10.2 million viewers on Sunday night.
These numbers are for U.S. only, and the numbers are expected to be much higher as the weeks go on.
House of the Dragon Season 1 Episode 1, which logged 9.98 million viewers earlier this month on its first night of release, is now approaching 25 million viewers in the U.S. alone.
HBO notes, however, that these numbers are based on a HBO Max and linear telecasts, based on a combination of Nielsen and first party data.
Given that many shows typically drop in the vicinity of 10 to 15% in their second weeks, this is a huge vote of confidence in the franchise.
Add in the fact that there was probably a big curiosity factor associated with the first Game of Thrones spinoff, these numbers are excellent.
HBO also revealed that the original series is soaring in popularity on HBO Max, with the original series spiking 30% in viewership, marking eight consecutive weeks of growth.
HBO announced last week that House of the Dragon has been renewed for Season 2.
Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming said at the time:
“We are beyond proud of what the entire HOUSE OF THE DRAGON team has accomplished with season one.”
“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.”
Based on George R.R. Martin’s “Fire & Blood,” the series, set 200 years before the events of “Game of Thrones,” tells the story of House Targaryen.
Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans. Additional cast includes Milly Alcock, and star.
Also starring is Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Emily Carey, Harry Collett, Ryan Corr, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jefferson Hall, David Horovitch, Wil Johnson, and John Macmillan.
Rounding out the cast is Graham McTavish, Ewan Mitchell, Theo Nate, Matthew Needham, Bill Paterson, Phia Saban, Gavin Spokes, and Savannah Steyn.
What are your thoughts on the ratings growth?
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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.