by Thinus Ferreira
Warner Bros. Discovery announced that the first season finale on Sunday of its dragon fantasy series House of the Dragon on HBO and HBO Max reached 9.3 million viewers in the United States, making it HBO's most-watched series finale since the series finale of HBO's Game of Thrones.
Filming of the second season of House of the Dragon will start early next year.
The 9.3 million viewers for the first season finale is however lower than the 10.2 million viewers who watched the second episode of the first season in America - the first season's most-watched episode.
The viewership of the first season's second episode was slightly higher than the 9.99 million people who watched the season's debut episode in America.
The 9.3 million viewers of House of the Dragon's first season finale are the combined viewership tally of people who watched the linear broadcast on HBO, as well as three subsequent repeats, and also those who watched through streaming on its HBO Max streaming service.
Ratings for the linear airing in South Africa of the finale on M-Net (DStv 101) on Monday where its shown at the same time as in America at 03:00 in the morning local time, and again during late prime-time, is not available yet and HBO Max has not launched and is not accessible in South Africa yet.
The series finale of HBO's Game of Thrones, also shown in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa on M-Net, netted 19.8 million viewers in America in 2019 for the conclusion of the 8th and final season.
Warner Bros. Discovery in its statement says that outside of America, House of the Dragon "has surpassed Game of Thrones season 8 making it the most-viewed HBO title ever in Europe, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan on an HBO streaming service".
House of the Dragon is based on George R.R. Martin's 2018 novel Fire & Blood and is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, telling the story of the fall of House Targaryen.
Filming of the second season of House of the Dragon will start in early 2023 with the war between different houses, known as "the Dance of the Dragons", which will play out over the rest of the series, starting with the second season.
"We're so thrilled to see House of the Dragon catch fire with Game of Thrones fans around the world, as well as new viewers who are discovering the world of Westeros for the first time," said Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max, in a statement following the conclusion of the first season of House of the Dragon.
"Congrats to George R.R. Martin, (co-showrunners) Ryan Condal, Miguel Sapochnik and the whole House of the Dragon team on an incredible first season."
