With a bumper audience for its premiere, those dragons will be back for more! 

HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, which launched on September 21st, has garnered critical and popular acclaim.

In terms of numbers, the premiere has grabbed the largest audience for any new HBO series; across on-demand and streaming in the US alone it was seen by over 20 million viewers.

From the critical point of view, The Times called it ‘visually sumptuous’ while The Independent went with ‘Bigger, bolder and bloodier’. The Guardian called the show ‘… gorgeous, opulent television, cinematic and big, pushing at the edges of what TV can do’, suggesting it’s just a little more grown-up than its predecessor.

We’d agree, although recalling there was little magic and plenty of politics, sex and violence in GoT’s first run.

With all that in mind, a positive reception has led to the unsurprising news that the show has been recommissioned. It’s okay to get invested, this is likely to run – but don’t get attached to anyone. The original was well known for bumping off its stars!

Of course, House of the Dragon is based on events chronicled in George R. R. Martin’s book ‘Fire & Blood’, so it would be easy to read ahead. However, there’s nothing to say that the show will slavishly adapt those events…

The show has pleased its UK broadcaster too. Sky’s MD of Content, Zai Bennett, said:

“House of the Dragon is already proving to be a ratings hit, and we predict it will go from strength to strength due to the captivating storytelling and incredible production values. We look forward to sharing a second series with our customers on Sky and NOW.”

Credits

Episode 2 of the show, ‘The Rogue Price’, also debuted the show’s title sequence:

Very much a relative to Game of Thrones’ mechanical model of Westeros, this version appears to vividly illustrate the bloodlines which led to House Targaryen. It achieves this with streams of blood rushing around a model of Old Valyria. It’s an arresting sight to say the least, although there’s familiarity in the same theme tune that heralded the start of the original show.

Season 1

But we mustn’t get ahead of ourselves. Season 1 still has plenty in store – including a time-jump which will age up Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen from Milly Alcock to Emma D’Arcy, and Alicent Hightower from Emily Carey to Olivia Cooke.

House of the Dragon airs on Sky Atlantic and Now in the UK, releasing new episodes on Mondays, building to the season finale on October 24th.