Summary

• House of the Dragon season 2 finale breaks records despite not suring season 1's viewership numbers.
• With 8.9 million viewers between HBO and Max, season 2 episode 8 set the best streaming day ever for Max, evidence of shifting consumer habits.
• Season 3 promises even more storytelling satisfaction, building on divisive elements from season 2 for viewership growth.

The Game of Thrones spinoff series became the most-watched premiere in HBO's history between its linear channel and streaming service, which at the time was called HBO Max. Two years later and with the streaming service now called Max, the fantasy prequel remains one of HBO's strongest performing series.

According to Variety, the House of the Dragon season 2 finale garnered 8.9 million viewers between HBO and Max, which marks the best streaming day ever on Max globally and in the United States, along with the highest viewership during season 2's run. This is a 14% increase from the season 2 premiere's 7.8 million viewers. Season 2's success was not able to match season 1's numbers, though, with the series premiere bringing in over 10 million viewers, episode 2 exceeding that with 10.2 million, and the season 1 finale finishing with 9.3 million.

House Of The Dragon Remains Dominant Despite Divisive Reactions To Season 2

Its Viewership And Ongoing Impact On Pop Culture Discourse Are Impressive

While reactions to certain narrative decisions in House of the Dragon season 2 proved more divisive than season 1, this did not significantly hurt the series' viewership or its overall popularity. The change in values is partially due to changing consumer habits, as fewer viewers watch new episodes on HBO's cable channel and more now subscribe to Max, ing for the decrease in linear viewership and the record-breaking success for Max. Regardless of how it's watched, HBO has not had a series influence popular-culture discourse so heavily since The Last of Us season 1 and Succession season 4 in 2023.

Succession's series finale released on May 28, 2023, more than a year before House of the Dragon season 2's premiere.

Daemon Targaryen's visions at Harrenhal, the lack of action in the season 2 finale, and changes made to "Blood and Cheese" from the source material proved to be divisive, while the Battle at Rook's Rest and the dragonseeds successfully claiming their dragons received widespread praise. Whether story decisions were heavily criticized or celebrated, House of the Dragon continued to dominate cultural conversation and bring in extensive viewership. The season 2 finale's numbers exceeding the premiere shows how the interest in the season only grew larger as the episodes progressed.

A preview featuring footage for many of Max's 2024–2025 series, including The Penguin, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and The Last of Us season 2, was intentionally released the same night as House of the Dragon's season 2 finale to prove there is still a reason to remain subscribed until the Game of Thrones prequel returns. Season 3 will be made even more satisfying by some of the divisive storytelling in season 2; especially with the highly anticipated Battle of the Gullet coming in House of the Dragon season 3, it should continue to amass impressive viewership.

Source: Variety