The House Of The Dragon Finale Is HBO's Most Viewed Since Game Of Thrones

"House of the Dragon" has proven itself to be a worthy followup to "Game of Thrones," at least in the ratings department. The prequel series concluded its initial season with the highest-rated finale for HBO since its predecessor's ending, Warner Media announced.

It's good news for HBO as the network gave a green light to "House of the Dragon" Season 2 shortly after the series premiere eventually nabbed 20 million viewers through first-night viewership and subsequent streams on HBO Max, per The Hollywood Reporter. The premiere of the show ("Heirs of the Dragon") drew around 10 million viewers overnight, which actually made it the biggest premiere in HBO's history, via Warner Media. Quite a feat when you consider this is the home of not only "Game of Thrones," but other massive shows, new and old, from "The Sopranos" to "Succession."

"House of the Dragon" had the advantage of being connected to such a massive show, but it also had a 1st season that asked a lot of questions. There were plenty of dragons, but also a midway time jump that included the recasting of some of the leads, and everything from foot fetishes to uncle-and-niece romances spread across the latest extension to George R.R. Martin's universe. 

So how big exactly was the "House of the Dragon" finale? 

"House of the Dragon" Season 1 Episode 10 ("The Black Queen") brought in 9.3 million viewers on the night of its premiere, per Warner Media. This massive number includes viewers from airings on HBO, as well as streams from HBO Max. 

It's an impressive number, but one that doesn't match the highest-rated finale for HBO. "Game of Thrones" Season 8 Episode 6 ("The Iron Throne") brought in 19.8 million viewers by comparison, but the show also had more years to build up its own audience. The mixed-at-best response from fans to the final season of "Game of Thrones" could also be a factor in how "House of the Dragon" is performing. 

The prequel series hasn't seen too much of a dip, according to numbers that Warner Bros. Discovery has put out during its 1st season. Along with the premiere nabbing 10 million viewers on the night it aired, there was a series high of 10.2 million viewers for the show's 2nd episode ("The Rogue Prince"). 

Warner Bros. Discovery did not share exact figures for other episodes but claimed that viewership ticked up for "House of the Dragon" in Episode 4 ("King of the Narrow Sea"), Episode 5 ("We Light the Way"), and Episode 6 ("The Princess and the Queen"), according to reporting from Variety.