House of the Dragon Season 2 Premiere Lower Than Series Launch, Sets New Max Streaming Record

While the House of the Dragon Season 2 premiere was lower than first season, it did hit a new high for Max.

By Timothy Adams

The numbers are in for the House of the Dragon Season 2 premiere, and the viewers are less than they were when the series first launched. Sunday brought House of the Dragon back to HBO and Max as the Game of Thrones spinoff began its second season. House of the Dragon is one of the biggest offerings from HBO, with fans eager to return to Westeros to see the coming war between Team Green and Team Black. Viewers can either tune into HBO or the Max streaming service to watch House of the Dragon, and they did that with record numbers for the latter.

The total number of viewers for the Season 2 premiere of House of the Dragon was 7.8 million across HBO and Max. In contrast, the premiere of House of the Dragon's first season drew 10 million viewers, putting Season 2 behind by 22 percent. While some might take that as bad news, there is a positive spin to be found in the viewership numbers: the House of the Dragon Season 2 premiere gave Max its biggest streaming day ever. A lot of this can be attributed to Max launching in Europe in May. Warner Bros. Discovery also notes this was the biggest Season 2 premiere for any of its streaming services in Europe. 

House of the Dragon renewed for Season 3

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(Photo:

House of the Dragon Season 2 key art

- HBO)

HBO renewed House of the Dragon for Season 3 just days before the second season premiered. "George, Ryan, and the rest of our incredible executive producers, cast, and crew, have reached new heights with the phenomenal second season of House of the Dragon," said Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming, Head of HBO Drama Series and Films. "We are in awe of the dragon-sized effort the entire team has put into the creation of a spectacular season two, with a scope and scale that is only rivaled by its heart. We could not be more thrilled to continue the story of House Targaryen and watch this team burn bright again for season three."

Related:

What is House of the Dragon about?

Based on George R.R. Martin's "Fire & Blood" book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D'Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower. 

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