House of the Dragon is officially the biggest US drama launch on Sky ever

Virgin Radio

6 Sep 2022, 13:20

House of the Dragon is certainly going down well with fans, not just stateside, but here in the UK too. 

Sky has confirmed the opening episode of the critically acclaimed Game of Thrones prequel has reached 4.08 million views, making it their biggest ever US drama launch. 

Not only that, but the debut of Daemon (Matt Smith) and Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) helped Sky Atlantic score its biggest series premiere in its 11-year history. 

The seven-day viewing figures show that the launch of HOTD was bigger than Game of Thrones in 2011, and episode two might help Sky break even more records. 

The news comes after HBO confirmed the second episode kept fans intrigued, with the follow-up garnering even more viewers than its opening, landing 10.2 million when it aired last week. 

To put that into perspective, the second episode now tallies up with the same amount of viewers the premiere of Game of Thrones series six had. 

MD of Content at Sky, Zai Bennett said of the massive success in the UK: “Momentum around House of the Dragon just continues to build, as more and more people spread the word about its ever-current narrative of political power play married with visuals of epic scale and imagination. And thanks to Sky making the first episode freely available to watch via YouTube, more people than ever before will be able to sample the world-class world of Westeros.”

Meanwhile, fans were treated to a hint of what’s to come in episode four at the tail end of the latest episode last night (Monday 5th September.)

Big spoilers ahead! 

The trailer certainly had a number of talking points, including the secrets around the Catspaw dagger, which eventually lands into the hands of Arya Stark in Game of Thrones 200 years later. 

Daemon returns with his new title of King of the Narrow Sea after reigning victorious over Crabfeeder in the war of the Stepstones, and the already-strained relationship between Rhaenyra and father, King Viserys (Paddy Considine) reaches a tipping point after they discuss her marriage pact. 

Speaking of strained relationship, check out virginradio.co.uk’s chat with Criston Cole star Fabien Frankel about the moment he almost hit co-star Matt in the face with a sword.

House of the Dragon is available every Monday exclusively on Sky and streaming service NOW.