Fans more excited for House of the Dragon vs The Rings of Power, data shows

There are two big high fantasy shows on the horizon: House of the Dragon on HBO and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Amazon Prime Video. People involved in these shows — including House of the Dragon progenitor George R.R. Martin — have made it clear that the two series can coexist. Matt Smith, who plays Daemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon, is excited for The Rings of Power. Morfydd Clark, who plays Galdriel in The Rings of Power, is psyched for House of the Dragon. “It’s a good time to like fantasy,” she told Variety. “So I’m chuffed.”

That said, I think it’s natural to pit these two against each other in your head. After all, months after Amazon announced that The Rings of Power would premiere on September 2 of this year, HBO revealed that House of the Dragon would premiere on August 21, just a couple weeks before. It’s like they’re asking for comparisons! “Honestly, my reaction was ‘Of course they did,’” Amazon Studios executive Vernon Sanders told Variety. “If I were in their shoes, I probably would do the same thing and want to get out before, as opposed to getting out after.”

Personally, while I’m looking forward to both of these shows and hope they both succeed, I’m also interested in seeing which generates more buzz, which gets better ratings and which “wins” the coming throwdown. Yes, it’s possible to do both of those things!

Fans more excited for Game of Thrones prequel vs Lord of the Rings prequel

Once both shows are on the air, we can compare and contrast freely. Until then, we can look at which show people are anticipating more. And that’s where Whip Media comes in. They have an app called TV Time that tracks viewer interest across 21 million global users. According to data provided to The Wrap, around 20% more users are following House of the Dragon than The Rings of Power, giving the Game of Thrones prequel a healthy lead.

That said, The Rings of Power is the most anticipated Amazon series since 2019, so plenty of people are still looking forward to it, just not as many as are looking forward to House of the Dragon. I think that makes sense. The Lord of the Rings is a huge legacy brand, but it hasn’t really been in the news since 2013’s The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Meanwhile, Game of Thrones ended in 2019, so it’s more top of mind. Ultimately, the quality of the shows is what will determine whether they stick around for the long haul. I hope they both do.

We’re going to cover both shows extensively here at WiC. Whatever happens, there’s about to be a lot to talk about.

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