House of the Dragon unstoppable as ratings continue to rise

House of the Dragon is averaging nearly 29 million viewers per episode, and the ratings just keep going up. It’s safe to say the show is a hit.

The first episode of House of the Dragon was the highest rated series premiere in the history of HBO. The second episode was watched by even more people than the first, a rarity for a new series.

And things have just been climbing since then. According to Variety, ratings for the latest episode of the show — “We Light The Way” — rose 3% from the week before. All in all, the show is averaging 29 million viewers per episode, counting both those watching linearly on TV and those streaming the episodes on HBO Max. That’s a lotta eyeballs.

We’re five episodes in now, halfway through the first season, and it’s extremely safe to say that House of the Dragon is a hit. That said, the show is about to take a big risk: the next episode, “The Princess and the Queen,” will jump forward 10 years in time, and will introduce us to several new actors playing older versions of characters we’ve already met. Will audiences stick with the show as it makes this transition?

Probably. Given how consistently people have been tuning in, it’s clear House of the Dragon has established a level of trust with its core audience, which means they’ll probably be willing to take this leap and see where it goes. Still, it’s a risk, but at this point in the show’s life, it feels more exciting than scary.

New episodes of House of the Dragon air Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.

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