- 10.2 million viewers tuned into the second episode of "House of the Dragon" on Sunday.
- Viewership was up slightly from the first episode, which was HBO's biggest premiere ever.
The first episode of "House of the Dragon" appears to have been good enough to attract its audience and then some for the second installment.
Episode two of the new "Game of Thrones" prequel slightly rose in viewership from the first, with 10.2 million viewers in the US across HBO Max and linear airings, HBO announced on Monday.
A whopping 9.986 million viewers tuned in to the show's first episode on August 21, making it HBO's biggest series premiere ever. HBO said that that episode has been watched by a total of nearly 25 million viewers in one week.
The numbers further support the notion that "Game of Thrones" is still wildly popular, and not even its poorly received finale in 2019 could deter people from watching this spinoff series.
"House of the Dragon" has even lifted viewership for "Game of Thrones." Viewership for the series on HBO Max last week was up 30% compared to the prior week, HBO said.
HBO quickly renewed "House of the Dragon" for a second season on Friday. It's so far been received largely favorably by critics and audiences, with an 83% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and an 85% audience score.
"Nasty business, rendered beautifully: That's the shared 'Game of Thrones' universe's stock in trade," wrote Rolling Stone's Sean T. Collins on episode two. "And from crazed warlords to dragon-fueled standoffs to a momentous marriage proposal, this week's 'House of the Dragon' episode does its dark business well."