Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO Max
House of the Dragonhas officially been renewed for season 2!
TheGame of Thronesprequel is on the fast track to its sophomore season, HBO Max announced on Friday. According to the announcement shared with PEOPLE, Sunday’s debut episode,“The Heirs of the Dragon,“earned the largest audience for any new original series in HBO history with more than 20 million viewers in the U.S. alone. (In fact, the excitement for the series was so high,HBO Max briefly crashedon Amazon devices.)
“We are beyond proud of what the entireHouse of the Dragonteam has accomplished with season one,” Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President of HBO Programming, said in a statement to PEOPLE.
Ollie Upton/HBO
Set roughly 200 years beforeGame of Thrones' eight-season arc,House of the Dragonis yet another tale about the endless struggle to determine who gets to occupy the Iron Throne.
This time, though, the show focus on the squabbles within the house of Targaryen,the dynasty that will ultimately produceGame’s Daenerys Targaryen. Like her, the Targaryens have long white-blond hair and look like a medieval line of Barbies. King Viserys (Paddy Considine) wants a male heir, but a son perished, forcing him (reluctantly) to consider his young daughter Rhaenyra as successor.
The show also starsMatt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best,Fabien Frankeland Emily Carey.
As critics unveiled their reviews onHouse of the Dragon, opinions ofthe fantasy epicwere mostly positive, but not every element of the show is garnering praise. (Review aggregatorRotten TomatoesshowsHouse of the Dragonat 83 percent. The audience score was similar at 86 percent.)
Daniel Fienberg ofThe Hollywood Reportersaid, “HBO has ended up with a show that feels reverse-engineered to give devotedGame of Thronesfans a facsimile of what they liked about the original series, while casualGame of Thronesfans get … ummm … lots and lots of dragons. I mean, it’s right there in the title,House of the Dragon, which I can only assume supplanted the originalGame of Thrones: Oops, All Targaryens!”
Entertainment Weeklygave the show a “B” rating, saying it is “the blandest possible orientation, Epic Fantasy for Dummies.”
Critic Darren Franich said, “Dragonhas more of a clear mission than its bi-continental predecessor and a much-stated central theme. ‘Were I born a man, I could bed whoever I wanted!’ declares Rhaenyra, when a whole episode revolves around Red Keep [gossip] about who’s boning who.
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The first season ofHouse of the Dragonwill consist of 10 episodes and premieres Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO, season two does not yet have a premiere date.
source: people.com
