‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 Premiere Sets Record-Breaking Day for HBO Max

The premiere of “House of the Dragon” Season 2 recently made waves as Warner Bros. Discovery reported it as the most-watched day in Max’s history. Despite a 22 percent decrease from the series premiere in 2022, the numbers were still impressive. The difference lies in the fact that the Season 1 premiere aired on HBO Max, while the Season 2 premiere was exclusively on Max, showcasing an interesting technicality.

When the series first debuted on August 21, 2022, it garnered 10 million viewers across platforms, including linear HBO and HBO Max. In contrast, the Season 2 premiere attracted 7.8 million viewers across Max and linear HBO. The first season episodes reached about 29 million viewers each, indicating that there is still room for growth in the viewership of the show.

The merger of HBO Max and Discovery+ resulted in the creation of Max over a year ago. While Discovery+ remains available as a standalone option, it is not as popular as Max. Max stands as a distinct platform from HBO Max, known for its previous technical glitches. The rebranding to Max aimed to emphasize its diverse content library beyond HBO, encompassing Warner Bros. Discovery brands like Discovery programming, Turner content, and Warner Bros. films.

Recently, Warner Bros. Discovery increased the subscription price of Max by an additional dollar per month coinciding with the Season 2 start of “House of the Dragon” in 2024. The price hike, along with the Father’s Day holiday, may have impacted streaming viewership of the “Game of Thrones” prequel series.

In Belfast, Ireland, production has commenced on another “Game of Thrones” prequel series titled “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” set a century before the original series. Adapted from George R. R. Martin’s novella “The Hedge Knight,” the new series follows two unlikely heroes in Westeros: Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Egg, during the Targaryen dynasty’s rule.

“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” features a cast including Peter Claffey, Dexter Sol Ansell, Finn Bennett, Bertie Carvel, Tanzyn Crawford, Daniel Ings, and Sam Spruell. The series will comprise six episodes directed by Owen Harris and Sarah Adina Smith, with George R.R. Martin and Ira Parker as writers and Ryan Condal, Vince Gerardis, Owen Harris, and Sarah Bradshaw as executive producers.