House of the Dragon House of the Dragon General Discussion Thread (TAG SPOILERS)

[Weather Witch]

One of the main things that give me a lot of faith in the future of this show is the screentime for not just the small council, but also minor political players, Rhaenyra's Queens Guard, and everybody having Maesters. That is the kind of stuff that Game of Thrones, later on, didn't seem to make time for. Here I'm sure we'll get a replacement for Beesbury and they brought in Wylde to replace Strong as well.

 

[Dr.]

‘House Of The Dragon’ finale ratings – Deadline

More than 9 million people tuned into the season finale of House of the Dragon on Sunday — HBO’s biggest finale night for one of its series since the conclusion of Game of Thrones in May of 2019.

HOTD was up against Sunday Night Football and the final game of the ALCS between the NY Yankees and Houston Astros. The viewership is across all platforms, based on a combination of Nielsen and first party data, according to the network.​

 

[Weather Witch]

Time for some numbers as per usual.

Spoiler

Even with the leak, as well as major NFL and MLB games, Episode 10 brought in 9.3 Million US viewers on Sunday alone. Slightly below Episode 1 (9.99 Million US viewers), which indicates great viewer retention for the first season. Seeing how many people caved and watched the leaked version, myself included, those are much higher numbers than I expected.

More crucially, Nielsen revealed that 68% of the audience for House of the Dragon is concentrated in the 18-49 age group. With ROP only 29% of its audience is under 35. Actual viewership isn't as far apart as early numbers indicated, though HOTD does seem to fare slightly better.

So why does the age thing matter? Investors, advertisers, and most of all social engagement. For example hashtag views on TikTok via business insider: 619 million for #TheRingsofPower vs 5.1 billion for #HouseoftheDragon.

Another great advantage for HBO Max is that people are still (re-)watching Game of Thrones as well. Good for 586 million minutes watched on HBO Max in the US this week alone. The longevity of HOTD, after the final episode airs, is going to be the next thing to watch. It will be a while until Nielsen catches up with those numbers though.

‘House Of The Dragon’ finale ratings – Deadline

More than 9 million people tuned into the season finale of House of the Dragon on Sunday — HBO’s biggest finale night for one of its series since the conclusion of Game of Thrones in May of 2019.

HOTD was up against Sunday Night Football and the final game of the ALCS between the NY Yankees and Houston Astros. The viewership is across all platforms, based on a combination of Nielsen and first party data, according to the network.​

You beat me to it while I was writing the above.

 

[misjuevos]

high viewing numbers even though it leaked, that is impressive.

 

[Drizzle]

high viewing numbers even though it leaked, that is impressive.

I'd wager that a lot of people who watched the leaked episode did what I did and still made a point to tune in regardless. I wanted to watch it again, I wanted to watch it again in higher video and audio quality, and I wanted to watch the "Inside the Episode" afterwards. The trailer for season 4 of Succession that played before the show was an added bonus as well.

 

[flickchick85]

I'd wager that a lot of people who watched the leaked episode did what I did and still made a point to tune in regardless. I wanted to watch it again, I wanted to watch it again in higher video and audio quality, and I wanted to watch the "Inside the Episode" afterwards. The trailer for season 4 of Succession that played before the show was an added bonus as well.

I was not prepared for the Succession trailer and totally hit "skip" on it when I watched, thinking it would be another White Lotus ad or something. Didn't actually find out about it or see it 'til today. A valuable lesson I have learned: don't skip the ads before HBO finales.

 

[Iceman]

Great to see good viewing numbers. This was a high quality show throughout and a big boost for the GoT universe long term.

 

[Iceman]

The finale was great and overall, I could not be happier with how this show turned out. This feels like peak, quality era GOT again I am glad that I'll be along for the ride this time since I missed out the first time on all the craziness when it seemed like GOT was still the biggest/most talked about thing in the world.

The wait for Season 2 is going to be brutal man.

I think many GoT people who swore off will have given in and watched HotD by the time season 2 comes out and the hype around this show will be much bigger.

 

[Drizzle]

I was not prepared for the Succession trailer and totally hit "skip" on it when I watched, thinking it would be another White Lotus ad or something. Didn't actually find out about it or see it 'til today. A valuable lesson I have learned: don't skip the ads before HBO finales.

I almost did too because I thought it was a "Best of HBO" type of spot until I realized that the footage was all new. I definitely wasn't expecting a trailer this early since it isn't coming back until spring but I suppose for a show like that they could easily cut a quick trailer. It's not like there are CGI dragons involved unless Logan Roy has an ace up his sleeve.

 

[misjuevos]

just hope we get to see the fall of valyria and Aegon and his sisters-wives conquer Westeros at some point. It would be a good series.

 

[CaptainWagner]

One of the main things that give me a lot of faith in the future of this show is the screentime for not just the small council, but also minor political players, Rhaenyra's Queens Guard, and everybody having Maesters. That is the kind of stuff that Game of Thrones, later on, didn't seem to make time for. Here I'm sure we'll get a replacement for Beesbury and they brought in Wylde to replace Strong as well.

Yeah, I've really enjoyed how they've taken the time to establish minor characters like that. Would also add Bartimos Celtigar getting introduced.

re: the Council seats:

Spoiler

Tyland Lannister shifts to fill Beesbury's seat as Master of Coin. The Master of Ships seat is never filled, as the Greens try to use it to win the Iron Islands to their side, but Dalton Greyjoy would rather pillage Lannisport while its army is away than take a seat at the Small Council.

 

[Drizzle]

Disc release in December:

House of the Dragon: The Complete First Season Blu-ray

 

[Primal Slayer]

Disc release in December:

House of the Dragon: The Complete First Season Blu-ray

I still need to buy S8 of GoT to complete my collection but definitely buying this in december

 

[Primal Slayer]

just hope we get to see the fall of valyria and Aegon and his sisters-wives conquer Westeros at some point. It would be a good series.

Omg give this to us! Either as a series or 3 film trilogy.

I also want a series leading up the Doom of Old Valyria

 

[Sawyer]

Cackling.

 

[Iceman]

Haha, serious quality in that look.

 

[Weather Witch]

HOTD Nielsen viewership held up nicely in the week after it's final episode premiered with 705 million minutes.

Even more amazingly, two weeks after that finale Game of Thrones is still the #9 in acquired program with 414 million minutes watched in the US. Really put the franchise back on the map in a big way.

 

[Sawyer]

 

[uncletyrion]

I honestly wasn't expecting much. I was therefore surprised I enjoyed the first season of HotD so much! The characters were very well developed, and I found myself rooting for every major character at some point in the season. The acting is largely good, with the special effects being great. The story is believable, and the ending was outstanding. I am excited for Season 2!

 

[Sawyer]

 

[Slick]

House of the Dragon Season 2 to Get Less Episodes Than Season 1
Whatever's best for the story.

 

[squeekness]

House of the Dragon Season 2 to Get Less Episodes Than Season 1
Whatever's best for the story.

I agree. I don't want dragged out episodes filled with unnecessary fluff.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

HOTD doesn't have that massive a story left so this isn't too shocking.

 

[Primal Slayer]

House of the Dragon Season 2 to Get Less Episodes Than Season 1
Whatever's best for the story.

What.the.fork.

Is this best for the series? Same way it was "best" for GoT? Sure jan.

If it was a WB mandate, I'll be even more annoyed.

 

[Drizzle]

Having read Fire and Blood, I don't think it's enough content for 40 episodes. That's if they stick to four seasons, which is what GRRM wants. Either way if they do four seasons I think 8 episodes each would be more than enough.