House of the Dragon

When is episode 1 of House of the Dragon Season 1 airing? Where can you watch this fantasy drama? Here's everything we know:

House of the Dragon is available to watch on the HBO channel and HBO Max. House of the Dragon is the long-awaited prequel to Game of Thrones, taking place 200 years before the War of the Five Kings. What do you hope to see as the series progresses?

Which characters matter? Which Houses are a factor? Why are their names so hard to spell? We have viewers of the 'Game of Thrones' prequel covered.

The influential family is a key ally of House Targaryen, so their prosperity — and family trees — are intertwined. The Hightowers are known for their wealth and are affiliated with the Tyrells, a house “Game of Thrones” fans are likely more familiar with. A close friend of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Ser Otto Hightower’s daughter, Alicent grew up in the Red Keep. King Jaehaerys Targaryen’s grandchild who, as his oldest living descendant, had a claim to the Iron Throne. A formidable warrior, Prince Daemon serves as the commander of the City Watch of King’s Landing. The clan of dragon-riders became the first ruling house of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros thanks to a successful conquest led by King Aegon Targaryen; the family ruled over Westeros for almost 300 years.

The “Game of Thrones” spinoff tries to recapture the magic through nostalgic detail, family fights, and grisly scenes of childbirth.

Rhaenyra’s voice-over tells us that the old king knew that “the only thing that could tear down the House of the Dragon was itself.” Ain’t that the truth, king. Like the infamous final season of “Thrones,” “Dragon” doesn’t always make the most of its story’s assets. There’s funny dialogue, but mostly of the unintentional variety: “Laughing with your whores and your lickspittles!” the king yells to a relative, in a rage. Will “House of the Dragon” have us obsessing about the Crabfeeder? “Game of Thrones,” for all its flaws, was a Sunday-night treasure for a reason: its wild inventiveness and beauty, its overstuffed intrigue and action, its humor, its characters. (Did they always sound so Wookiee-like?) And it’s hard not to love a show in which hundreds of flickering votive candles surround not rose petals and a proposal but a dragon skull the size of a Humvee. The Daemon-Rhaenyra dynamic, and Daemon’s flaxen wig and eyes narrowed in constant scheming, recalls the Targaryens we know best: Daenerys and her brother, also named Viserys, whose death in “Thrones” involved our rejoicing while he encountered a faceful of molten gold. “Dragon” swiftly provides some of the old “Thrones” pleasures. Inside the palace, Rhaenyra and her friend Alicent Hightower visit the hugely pregnant queen (“This discomfort is how we serve the realm,” she says, proud and grim), and then Rhaenyra zips off to a meeting of the king and his advisers, where, as she pours water for them, undercover-Arya style, she listens to the proceedings: reports that begin “We’ve all been poring over the moon charts”; a discussion of a pirate-punishing madman called the Crabfeeder. Martin’s “ [Fire and Blood](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593598008),” tells the story of House Targaryen in an era well before our old friends showed up—a hundred and seventy-two years before the death of the Mad King, the opening titles inform us, and the birth of his daughter Daenerys Targaryen. Like Rhaenyra, he’s a dragon rider—not just anybody can pilot those things—and, also like her, he’s a possible contender for the Iron Throne. The show opens not with a grim ice-monster sequence, as “Thrones” did—hat tip to that—but with the announcement, in a grand hall, of Prince Viserys (Paddy Considine) as the next king.

The Game of Thrones ending left plenty cold, but HBO is hoping House of the Dragon will warm everyone up to Westeros again. Here's what you need to know.

Given what we've seen in trailers, House of the Dragon's first season looks like it'll focus on arranging all these new pieces on the grand playing field that is the game of thrones. While the story doesn't have a happy ending, it does have an ending already written (and a pretty dramatic one at that). There were more than 20 dragons still alive in Westeros (you would have spotted plenty during the trailer for House of the Dragon) during this time. Without a son from that marriage to succeed him, Viserys's younger brother Prince Daemon (played by Matt Smith) assumes he will be the one to ascend the Iron Throne upon the eventual death of his older brother, as was Westerosi custom. Before he died though, Viserys married Alicent Hightower and had four more children, making the question of succession complicated, and bloody. Basically, it's going to help answer the "why was Dany the last Targaryen?" Just a few generations removed from the conquest of Aegon, the ranks of the dynasty of silver-haired dragon riders had swelled to have more than enough members to fill a Westerosi football team … Like most things in Westeros, the conflict at the heart of this story is over power. and more than enough bastards and side branches to fill the stands. And unlike the final seasons of Game of Thrones, smug book readers once again have a heads-up on what's about to play out before it happens on your screen. It's set more than 150 years before everything that made up the Game of Thrones you know. Basically, it's one for the uber fans, and

Dragons, fire, family dramas, power struggles - 'Game of Thrones' prequel 'House of the Dragon' ticks all the anticipated boxes.

[Colony](https://concreteplayground.com/brisbane/arts-entertainment/film/what-to-stream-with-your-mates-this-winter-when-you-feel-like-youve-watched-everything)). If House of the Dragon's key pair had written both GoT's and [ Succession](https://concreteplayground.com/brisbane/arts-entertainment/film-tv/succession-renewed-season-four)'s main characters and narrative beats on post-its, stuck them on a wall, then rearranged the lot to create a slightly different story, this would easily be the end result. [green-lighting a different prequel](https://concreteplayground.com/brisbane/arts-entertainment/film/like-winter-a-game-of-thrones-prequel-series-is-coming) to pilot stage, scrapping it, then [picking this one to run with](https://concreteplayground.com/brisbane/arts-entertainment/film-tv/hbo-house-targaryen) instead — and also making plans to bring novella series [Tales of Dunk and Egg](https://concreteplayground.com/adelaide/arts-entertainment/film-tv/it-looks-like-another-game-of-thrones-prequel-series-could-be-coming-to-hbo) to TV, working on [an animated GoT show](https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/game-of-thrones-animated-series-hbo-max-1234894042/), exploring [other potential prequels](https://concreteplayground.com/adelaide/arts-entertainment/three-more-game-of-thrones-spinoffs-could-be-coming-if-youre-missing-the-shows-fantasy-world) and forging ahead [a Jon Snow-focused sequel series](https://concreteplayground.com/brisbane/arts-entertainment/film-tv/hbo-jon-snow-game-of-thrones-sequel-series) — House of the Dragon is the first Game of Thrones successor to arrive in streaming queues. From the first six episodes in its ten-chapter debut season, House of the Dragon is content with the initial part of that equation, flapping the same wings and getting the same reaction as GoT — doing what HBO knows will work, and endeavouring to put Game of Thrones' lacklustre ending in its slipstream. [Upright](https://concreteplayground.com/brisbane/movie/upright)'s Milly Alcock, then [Mothering Sunday](https://concreteplayground.com/brisbane/event/mothering-sunday-3)'s Emma D'Arcy) becomes his heir, or the future son he's desperate to have, or his headstrong younger brother Prince Daemon (Matt Smith, [Morbius](https://concreteplayground.com/brisbane/event/morbius-3)). It isn't out of kindness that Hand of the King Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans, [The King's Man](https://concreteplayground.com/brisbane/event/the-kings-man-3)) tells his own daughter Alicent (The Lost Girls' Emily Carey, then [Slow Horses](https://concreteplayground.com/brisbane/arts-entertainment/film-tv/films-tv-shows-stream-this-month)' Olivia Cooke) to cosy up to their ruler at his loneliest. Here be dragons, and here be the women forced to deal with more and worse, including their own complicated relationship. [it wrapped up its eighth and final season](https://concreteplayground.com/brisbane/arts-entertainment/film-tv/nearly-one-million-unhappy-game-of-thrones-fans-want-the-shows-eighth-season-to-be-remade) three years back. House of the Dragon happily sticks to the saga's basics, so much so that everything you think will happen does — and making [a drinking game](https://concreteplayground.com/sydney/arts-entertainment/film-tv/house-of-the-dragon-drinking-game) around it is as easy as spotting feuds, orgies, incest, gore and fraying bonds of blood in the Seven Kingdoms. And, before the debut instalment of this [Game of Thrones](https://concreteplayground.com/brisbane/movie/game-of-thrones) prequel about House Targaryen's history even hits its halfway mark, a brothel scene with nudity and sex is sighted, too. [Iron Throne](https://concreteplayground.com/brisbane/arts-entertainment/film-tv/iron-throne-touring-australia-game-of-thrones-house-of-the-dragon), that sprawling metal seat that all of Westeros loves fighting about, also makes its initial appearance. Cue silky silver locks aplenty, of course, including cascading from King Viserys I's (Paddy Considine, [The Third Day](https://concreteplayground.com/sydney/arts-entertainment/film-tv/must-binge-hbo-miniseries-the-third-day-dives-into-a-creepy-islands-unsettling-secrets)) head as he takes to the Iron Throne over his cousin Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best, Nurse Jackie).

Here's where King Viserys and Princess Rhaenyra fit into the Targaryen timeline and when House of the Dragon is set in relation to Game of Thrones.

In particular, the series will follow events detailed in the latter half of Martin’s book, which includes the civil war “ [Dance of the Dragons](https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Dance_of_the_Dragons).” The war is a war of succession involving Princess Rhaenyra. Martin’s Fire and Blood (2018), which outlines the history of House Targaryen. The events of House of Dragon take place in AC, though some characters will speak of BC times, including events like the Doom of Valyria, a Pompeii-like event that almost killed all the dragons. The series is The Westeros timeline is broken into two periods—Before Conquest (BC) and After Conquest (AC). [Game of Thrones](https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a40323737/game-of-thrones-sequel-series-jon-snow/) left King’s Landing in a smoldering heap of rubble and seared flesh.

House of the Dragon, now released on HBO and HBO Max, is playing its hand a little slower than Game of Thrones, as its pilot focuses on setting up the whole ...

Extending the show a bit of benefit of the doubt, House of the Dragon’s first episode is designed to be one part of a complete story, built to live in HBO Max’s content library forever as a brief snapshot of a fictional universe’s history. By the time the show reached its cultural apex, even fans who had never touched Martin’s original novels had crafted elaborate theories and could tell you all about the [prophecy of Azor Ahai](https://www.polygon.com/2019/4/9/18302196/game-of-thrones-azor-ahai-prophecy-jon-snow-daenerys). But even with all that in its favor, it’s purposefully not as quick or instantly enthralling as Game of Thrones’ debut episode was more than a decade ago. House of the Dragon’s pilot is still entertaining and intriguing. Game of Thrones opens with an ice zombie, then slowly, step by step, introduces you to all of its main characters — some who are only around for a season and some who last the entire series. And it appears to be taking its time and getting there carefully — in fact, the pilot is basically a prequel to the prequel, set over a decade before the major fighting in the Dance of the Dragons will occur and featuring its two most important characters as teenagers rather than adults. In the beginning of the original series, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. The series throws you into a sea of laws, plots, blond wigs, and complicated names, assuming that you’ll figure most of it out eventually. But with half a book coming before we get to all that, House of the Dragon has a whole lot of table setting to do before things really get going. [the book Fire & Blood](https://www.polygon.com/23057740/read-fire-blood-house-of-the-dragon) by A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. The series will tell the story of an event known as the Dance of the Dragons, essentially a Targaryen civil war over the succession of the Iron Throne, which turned all of Westeros against itself. But that’s not the case with HBO’s new successor show [House of the Dragon](https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516586&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hbomax.com%2Fseries%2Fhouse-of-the-dragon%3Foffer_id%3D5%26transaction_id%3D102c87c7%255B%25E2%2580%25A6%255D4ed39326beedc6012ca%26utm_source%3DVox%2BMedia%26utm_medium%3Daffiliate&referrer=polygon.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.polygon.com%2F23287745%2Fhouse-of-the-dragon-pilot-game-of-thrones-hbo-fire-and-blood).

We recap the debut episode of the Game of Thrones prequel, in which tragedy strikes the Seven Kingdoms, and a new heir is named for the Iron Throne ... for ...

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George R.R. Martin and Ryan J. Condal know it's horrific and disturbing. Here's why they say it was necessary.

It’s kicked off by him believing that he’s going to have a new male son after trying for years and years, and stillbirths and miscarriages, and all the hell that [his wife Queen Aemma] has been through as a mother. “A lot of people had things to say about the birth of Baelon, Prince Baelon,” Those two sentence have been expanded into a forced C-section, with Aemma screaming in anguish as she is held down and cut open by doctors and midwives who hope to save the breech baby even at the expense of her life. The death of the baby, and of the king's wife, Queen Aemma (Sian Brooke), during the botched birth, creates a void that other family members rush to fill, brandishing swords and fire-breathing monsters to gain the upper hand. [Fire & Blood](https://georgerrmartin.com/grrm_book/fire-and-blood/), which inspired the Game of Thrones prequel. The House of the Dragon pilot’s graphic birth scene caused a visceral response even at the show's gala premiere.

Spoiler alert! The world of "Game of Thrones" returned to TV with HBO's "House of the Dragon" spinoff all about the Targaryens.

Otto chooses a meeting of the King's small council afterward to bring up the topic of succession, voicing his concerns about Daemon's temperament (and general hatred for the king's little brother). He also tells her about a prophecy their ancestor Aegon saw a hundred years ago, about the end of mankind starting with a great and terrible winter. Rhaenyra can fly on her dragon with her best friend Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey); Daemon can turn the City Watch into a murder brigade and creepily give his niece gifts; and Viserys can throw a jousting tournament in honor of his unborn sure-to-be son. He sends Alicent, his 15-year-old daughter, into the bedroom of the king, just to offer him some company, he says. He chooses the baby, and holds Aemma's hand while the medical "maesters" butcher her in a violent, bloody Caesarean section that leaves her bloody and dead on the bed. He has no time to discuss affairs of state with his Hand of the King, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) or potential war in the borderlands known as the Stepstones with Master of Ships Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint). So to set the scene for "Dragon" we start with a prologue: The good Targaryen King Jaehaerys ruled over Westeros during a half century of peace, but he has no sons to succeed him on the Iron Throne. It's a slice of the "Thrones" world, mostly within the walls of the Red Keep in King's Landing (that's the palace in the fictional nation's capital, if you've forgotten since [ "Thrones" ended in 2019](https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2019/05/21/game-of-thrones-tarnished-legacy-fan-anger-series-finale-iron-throne/3692682002/)). So he calls a great council to choose his heir, picking between his oldest descendent, Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best) and his oldest male descendent, Prince Viserys (Paddy Considine). So what to think of "Dragon" after the first hour? It is not, perhaps, as bombastic as many fans would hope and, worse, does little to establish the characters as sympathetic or even intriguing (a [weakness that doesn't go away](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2022/08/19/house-of-the-dragon-review-game-of-thrones-spinoff-disappointment/10331489002/), at least not in the first six episodes made available for review). It doesn't quite grab you the way its predecessor did, but perhaps all the dragon flying, nudity and dismemberment the pilot delivers will be enough to bring fans back for Episode 2.

Viserys and Aegon aren't the first Targaryens to have visions—and they won't be the last. Here's what you need to know about Targaryen prophecies.

[Jon, of course, kills Daenerys](https://time.com/5590729/game-of-thrones-finale-daenerys/) shortly after she sees the throne in real life. And, indeed, we do see that vision of the Iron Throne come to life in the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones. [House of the Dragon Is, Against All Odds, Pretty Decent](https://time.com/6207254/house-of-the-dragon-review/) [George R.R. And perhaps the sounds of hooves and shields and swords refer to the tournament that’s ongoing when the queen goes into labor. Another shows what she believes to be the future, the Iron Throne sitting in the open air with what looks to be snow falling upon it. And I placed our son upon the Iron Throne as the bells of Grand Sept tolled, and all the dragons roared as one.” Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books](https://time.com/4791258/game-of-thrones-george-r-r-martin-interview/), upon which Game of Thrones was based, place a great emphasis on prophecies. Volcanoes erupted, and an earthquake swallowed up all the people and dragons of Valyria. Martin’s version of Cassandra, Daenys had dream that the powerful kingdom of Valyria where her family lived would meet a cataclysmic end. [recent trailer for House of the Dragon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DotnJ7tTA34) declared that Targaryens would be “just like everyone else” without their dragons. The line of the Targaryens can be traced back to Daenys the Dreamer. Later, he reveals that Aegon the Conquerer—the Targaryen who united the Seven Kingdoms—had a vision of a threat from the North that would imperil the lives of everyone in Westeros.

We wanted it to be difficult to watch”: Co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik and actor Sian Brooke break down the series premiere's most brutal sequence.

Taken together, “the scene is meant to be a distillation of the experience of men and the experience of women during this time.” The director had two midwives on set during filming “to talk us through the reality of a Caesarean without anesthesia or modern instruments and medicine,” he said. Prior to filming, the actors also had a day-long rehearsal to make sure they were comfortable working with the prosthetics and other special effects that made the labor so viscerally lifelike. “It is the story’s inciting incident and needed to be strong and unflinching.” King Viserys and the Grand Maester never think to consult her, and so she is powerless over a decision about her own body.” Wade in June, “It feels more timely and impactful than ever,” said Sapochnik. And then within that, you’ve got this woman who’s at the mercy of a man’s decision.” Confused, then terrified, Aemma is pinned to the bed by a team of midwives as the Grand Maester makes an incision to her abdomen and removes the infant. The Grand Maester (David Horovitch) explains the predicament to Viserys: “During a difficult birth, it sometimes becomes necessary for the father to make an impossible choice: to sacrifice one, or to lose them both.” [the long-awaited spinoff “House of the Dragon”](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-08-19/house-of-the-dragon-review-hbo-game-of-thrones) opens with a death — two, actually — as memorable as they are poignant. The theme of this birth scene was ‘torture,’” co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik wrote in an email to The Times. “Each birth in this show has a theme, just as the battles I’ve filmed in the past have a central concept.

In the lavish Game of Thrones prequel, no one is immune to the toxic dynamics of the Targaryen family.

The dynamic between the adult Daemon and the 15-year-old Rhaenyra is immediately, grotesquely charged; they converse, intimately, in High Valyrian, and he looks at her with the loaded interest of a cat eyeing a bird. That seems to mean that, at least in the first six episodes made available to critics, virtually every plotline and motivation feels the same, and there may be no heroes, ultimately, to root for. By the end of the first episode, the grieving Viserys is also being comforted by Rhaenyra’s best friend, the teenaged Lady Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey), who has been compelled by her morose father (Rhys Ifans) to attend to the monarch despite her obvious reservations. On House of the Dragon, no primary relationship seems to be truly insulated from erotic desire, which is itself inextricable from the quest for power. An acknowledgment of the physically brutal and life-threatening reality of bearing children!) The show, based on a prequel history of the Targaryen family (which George R. It was present—most centrally in the sexual relationship between Jaime and Cersei Lannister, which Cersei justified by invoking the Targaryen tradition of marrying brothers and sisters—but not predominant until the final season, when Jon Snow and his aunt Daenerys made unfortunately literal the union of ice and fire. Or I will be”), and issue savage clapbacks (“And how have you served the realm, Lady Redwyne? Female characters school one another on patriarchal constraints (“Men would sooner put the realm to the torch than see a woman ascend to the Iron Throne”), affirm their authority (“I am the crown, Ser Criston. What was striking was the bifurcated way the person described the show’s framing for a post-#MeToo moment: conceding that there was “way less sex” in House of the Dragon than there could be in the good old tits-and-trebuchets days of yore, but also boasting that producers had cleverly adapted to the times by replacing sexual violence with barbaric renderings of childbirth. Martin published as Fire & Blood in 2018), begins 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Stormborn, the platinum-haired dragon queen in Thrones, and is in large part about the obstacles that stand in the way of women achieving and exerting power. But it also seems to strain at times with the possibly cynical effort of countering Game of Thrones’s Such “discomfort,” she explains, “is how [women] serve the realm.”) Think about this statement for a moment—that sexual violence is so fundamental to a franchise’s ethos that it has to be replaced with some other portrayal of primal female pain and suffering lest viewers lose interest—and your head might spin.

Sunday's long-awaited premiere aimed to create investment in a new royal power struggle while assuring viewers that this was still “Game of Thrones.”

[an interview](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/19/arts/television/house-of-the-dragon-ryan-condal-miguel-sapochnik.html)before the season, Sapochnik discussed the importance of making the dragons feel like real, organic parts of the world. “And the day grows ugly …” Rhaenys deadpanned as the crowd delighted in the brutality, which was one way to put it. That poor mid-coital couple frozen on the floor of the brothel. The scene was a somber counterpoint to the chaos and violent agony that had come before it, and Sapochnik wisely let the quietness build. But based on his unhealing lesions and their evidence that the throne doesn’t like him — as well as the fact that this is a succession story, and that monarchs need to die for games of thrones to go on — he seems unlikely to occupy it for long. Sapochnik, the director of “Thrones” spectacles like Martin](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/21/arts/television/george-rr-martin-house-of-the-dragon.html), the “Thrones” godhead, wanted to go with all along, which is what we got on Sunday, complete with the more hulking Iron Throne. Second: The patriarchal leaders of the realm will resist attempts to put a woman on the Iron Throne. [HBO’s efforts](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/10/arts/television/house-of-the-dragon-hbo-got.html), after the polarizing end of its biggest-ever hit, to keep the “Thrones” loot train going. “The childbed is our battlefield,” she said, and we saw how that turned out. (Though I admit that even in a more pensive register, the “duh-nuh-NUH-nuh” motif is very satisfying.) But it is fundamentally still the same ugly chair inspiring the same ugly feelings — anxiety, envy, power-lust, a willingness to betray friends and relatives.

Introducing Rhaenyra Targaryen, another platinum-blonde, dragon-riding princess, and her entire dysfunctional royal family.

Only in the wake of her mother and brother’s death does Rhaenyra finally allow herself to voice the rage she’s felt toward her father, and his inability to see her as worthy of the Iron Throne: “I wonder if during those few hours my brother lived, my father finally found happiness.” Just as a mystery knight named Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) bests Daemon at the height of the tournament, tragedy strikes House Targaryen, when both Aemma and her child die in Viserys and his beloved wife Aemma (Sian Brooke) are due to bring a new child into the world, and Viserys is convinced it will be a boy, thanks to a dream, “clearer than a memory.” The king is so sure of his son’s imminent arrival that he throws a lavish tournament in the baby’s honor, an event that quickly descends into typical Thronesian bloodshed, both on and off the battlefield. With the end of his life in sight and without a clear heir to his name, Jaehaerys Targaryen summons a council to untangle the matter of succession between two choices: his eldest heir, Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best), and his eldest male heir, Viserys (Paddy Considine). (The erstwhile Eleventh Doctor’s introduction to the world of House of the Dragon, in which he leads the gold-cloaked City Watch through a fire-and-bloody raid of King’s Landing, immediately ranks among the most violent in the entire Thrones franchise.) There are legitimate concerns about this man ascending to the throne, most repeatedly raised by Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), Hand of the King. Up in the sky, a platinum-blonde princess rides her dragon over the streets of King’s Landing.

Set 300 years before the events of Game Of Thrones, new fantasy drama series House Of The Dragon tells the story of the Targaryen dynasty. Warning: This story ...

Winter was coming, there was a giant ice wall and a sense that there are monsters just over there, waiting to get out. Then there’s Matt Smith’s bad-guy entrance, which has to go down as one of the best this or the OG show has ever delivered. There’s no plucky, down to earth family of bickering Stark siblings to lead us into the story. Also, the stakes in the original season were both shadowy and momentous. the Gods toss the coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land.” It was almost a running theme through all eight seasons of Game of Thrones how utter crackers the Targaryens were, marrying their relatives, murdering people for looking at them funny, obsessing over their pets who also happened to be giant fire breathing mythical monsters. I’m with the Baratheon’s interior decorator on this one, less is more. So, he hops on his giant, red, writing sky serpent (No, he’s not compensating for anything. “Madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin. R. [George R. [House of the Dragon: Five things the GoT prequel needs to get right to be a hit](https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/stuff-to-watch/300664835/house-of-the-dragon-five-things-the-got-prequel-needs-to-get-right-to-be-a-hit?rm=a)

Set 300 years before the events of Game Of Thrones, new fantasy drama series House Of The Dragon tells the story of the Targaryen dynasty. Warning: This story ...

Winter was coming, there was a giant ice wall and a sense that there are monsters just over there, waiting to get out. Then there’s Matt Smith’s bad-guy entrance, which has to go down as one of the best this or the OG show has ever delivered. There’s no plucky, down to earth family of bickering Stark siblings to lead us into the story. Also, the stakes in the original season were both shadowy and momentous. the Gods toss the coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land.” It was almost a running theme through all eight seasons of Game of Thrones how utter crackers the Targaryens were, marrying their relatives, murdering people for looking at them funny, obsessing over their pets who also happened to be giant fire breathing mythical monsters. I’m with the Baratheon’s interior decorator on this one, less is more. So, he hops on his giant, red, writing sky serpent (No, he’s not compensating for anything. “Madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin. R. [George R. [House of the Dragon: Five things the GoT prequel needs to get right to be a hit](https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/stuff-to-watch/300664835/house-of-the-dragon-five-things-the-got-prequel-needs-to-get-right-to-be-a-hit?rm=a)

Inside the Red Keep, Viserys tells Rhaenyra a little bit about Aegon the Conqueror, the first Targaryen king in Westeros and the man that united the seven ...

According to Viserys, to save the world all of Westeros must be united against the threat from the north and a Targaryen must be seated on the Iron Throne. But at the very least, this tiny bit of dialogue proves that House of the Dragon has more new information to share with viewers and hardcore fans than its status as a prequel and We know that a Targaryen’s return to Westeros, and her dragons, are critical in [the fight against the White Walkers](https://www.polygon.com/game-of-thrones/2019/4/28/18521903/game-of-thrones-season-8-episode-3-arya-night-king-battle-of-winterfell) and [saving men from the Long Night](https://www.polygon.com/2019/4/29/18522477/game-of-thrones-arya-night-king-battle-of-winterfell). And just as Daenys saw the end of Valyria, Aegon foresaw the end of the world of men. “That actually came from [Martin], at least the origin of that point,” said Condal. But in its first episode, the series already jumps beyond its [source material, Fire & Blood](https://www.polygon.com/23057740/read-fire-blood-house-of-the-dragon), to reveal previously unknown details about one of [A Song of Ice and Fire’s most important characters](https://www.polygon.com/game-of-thrones/23058669/house-of-the-dragon-cast-characters-story-fire-and-blood-targaryens). Most importantly, Viserys reveals that Aegon first sought to conquer Westeros because he had a vision of the end of the world: [we’ve already seen the ending](https://www.polygon.com/game-of-thrones/2019/4/28/18521922/game-of-thrones-who-died-season-8-episode-3-long-night-battle-of-winterfell). None of this is news to viewers familiar with [the prequel series’ story](https://www.polygon.com/e/23067233), but what King Viserys tells his teenage daughter should be a welcome surprise to hardcore A Song of Ice and Fire fans. [House of the Dragon](https://www.polygon.com/house-of-the-dragon), HBO’s new successor show to [Game of Thrones](https://www.polygon.com/game-of-thrones), is all about the Targaryen family, so it’s no surprise that it digs into their past. This prophecy is both unique and important for its place in the series. And if the world of men is to survive then a Targaryen must be seated on the Iron Throne.

The 10-part Game of Thrones prequel takes us back 172 years to tell the story of Daenerys Targaryen's ancestors. Plus, Disability & Abortion.

Zuu is at his best here, opening his foodie world to Big Narstie – who has a new restaurant in Tenerife, so spicy, wrinkled potatoes are the dish of the day. And how do governing bodies tackle the matter in a meaningful way? In this complex documentary, actors Ruth Madeley and Ruben Reuter – who both live with a disability – listen to a range of perspectives.

One of the most anticipated shows of the year is as good as we'd hoped, writes Catherine McGregor. The Lowdown: Remember how big Game of Thrones was?

House of the Dragon is a hugely promising successor to the beloved original. All signs point to House of the Dragon dwelling in the darkness right from the start, with little space for fun. It’s still early days, but it seems likely that House of the Dragon will lack the warmth and humour – think Tyrion and Jaime Lannister swapping one-liners, or the teasing between the Stark kids – that often characterised the original, at least in its early days. Pre-publicity for the show had sold the character as a cheeky rogue in the vein of GoT’s Euron Greyjoy. When we first visited the king’s small council and were met with the great Paddy Considine at the head of the table and Rhys Ifans and Bill Paterson at his side, I breathed a sigh of relief. Here it’s at the fore from the very start, with princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) positioned in conflict with her uncle Daemon (Matt Smith) for ultimate control of the kingdom.

House of the Dragon S01E01 centred around Paddy Considine's King Viserys Targaryen I choosing his heir to the throne, which was complicated by his having no ...

In House of the Dragon episode 1, now released on HBO and HBO Max, Rhaenyra Targaryen has to come to terms with how women are pawns in the games of powerful ...

With that in mind, House of the Dragon may be following a similar arc to Game of Thrones, where it breaks down its female characters in [order to build them back up later on](https://www.polygon.com/game-of-thrones/2019/5/20/18632523/game-of-thrones-finale-ending-sansa-queen-north). This is the norm in Westeros, a kingdom whose mores and attitudes are based on the similarly misogynist world of medieval Europe. It’s a decision that [sets the tone for not only the premiere](https://www.polygon.com/e/23051786) episode of [HBO’s Game of Thrones](https://www.polygon.com/game-of-thrones) [prequel](https://www.polygon.com/23292279/house-of-the-dragon-mushroom-canon), but for the fate of [the entire Targaryen dynasty](https://www.polygon.com/game-of-thrones/23058669/house-of-the-dragon-cast-characters-story-fire-and-blood-targaryens). It’s as dangerous as it gets […] We have a number of births in the show and basically decided to give them different themes and explore them from different perspectives the same way I did for a bunch of battles on Thrones.” Later in the episode, Viserys’ decision to make Rhaenyra his heir is motivated more by his anger towards his brother Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) than his faith in Rhaenyra’s abilities. [House of the Dragon](https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516586&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hbomax.com%2Fseries%2Fhouse-of-the-dragon%3Foffer_id%3D5%26transaction_id%3D102c87c7%255B%25E2%2580%25A6%255D4ed39326beedc6012ca%26utm_source%3DVox%2BMedia%26utm_medium%3Daffiliate&referrer=polygon.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.polygon.com%2F23315490%2Fhouse-of-the-dragon-episode-1-review) shows us what happens when women are treated as vessels and incubators. While Aemma attempts to deliver a baby who’s breeched (i.e., is turned with the feet downward instead of the head, a common and dangerous complication), the maester pulls the king aside and tells him it’s time to “make an impossible choice.” Who will live, and who will die? And so she ceases to be of value to the realm, as is illustrated in the bloodiest scene in an episode full of them. in recent months, where the repeal of Roe v. Director Miguel Sapochnik begins with a closeup of blood dripping from the maester’s hands, ramping up the gore as he cuts back and forth between the violence of Aemma’s murder-by-surgery and the bloodshed of the tournament happening outside the castle walls — a tourney put on, ironically enough, in the baby boy’s honor. In fact, she’s surprised and terrified when her husband kneels down beside her, strokes her hair and tells her not to be afraid, and nods to the maester to begin cutting. As Rhaenyra’s mother, Lady Aemma Arryn (Sian Brooke) tells Rhaenyra early on in the episode, “the childbed is our battlefield.” Aemma’s — and therefore her daughter’s — power lies in her capacity to get pregnant and bear a male heir.

Milly Alcock as Young Rhaenyra, Emily Carey as Young Alicent in "House of the Dragon." The following contains spoilers about the premiere episode of " ...

contained in Martin's writing and the earlier series. Martin's struggles for the Iron Throne, the producers were clearly mindful of early criticisms of "Game of Thrones." Her husband, King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine), is desperate for a son in order to secure a male heir to the throne, in accordance with tradition. That included incorporating people of color into the "House" cast and, as , fueling fierce debate about issues of forced birth and women's freedom to make their own healthcare choices. As

Thanks, Joffrey! Despite being set 200 years before, Game Of Thrones actually contains quite a few House of the Dragon spoilers.

So much so that the original series is peppered with references to what could now be considered major spoilers for House of the Dragon (which we’re publishing below, so be warned). [House of the Dragon](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/house-of-the-dragon-game-of-thrones-prequel-reviews) may be the successor to [Game of Thrones](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/game-of-thrones-franchise-george-rr-martin), but it takes place around 200 years prior to the adventures of Ned Stark, Tyrion Lannister, and Daenerys Targaryen. Better Call Saul found novel ways to root the prequel into the world of Breaking Bad (including roping in Heisenberg himself for a cameo in the final season) while [Star Wars](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/john-boyega-interview-2020) prequels like Solo and Rogue One were conceived as ways to fill in plot holes like: why is the Death Star like that?

HBO Max crashed repeatedly for many viewers during the premiere of the streaming platform's highly anticipated “Game of Thrones” prequel on Sunday night, ...

The prequel, helmed by different directors than its predecessors, could provide a comeback of sorts for HBO. “House of the Dragon is being successfully viewed by millions of HBO Max subscribers this evening,” HBO said in a statement provided to multiple media outlets Sunday. The crashes introduced a technical hiccup into one of HBO’s most hotly awaited shows in years.

The Game of Thrones prequel shows patriarchy at its most dehumanizing — but in a post-Roe world, it was effective.

House of the Dragon introduced House Stark with Rickon Stark swearing fealty to Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. Here's what to know about Rickon Stark.

Cregan will likely become Lord of Winterfell by the time of the civil war. It’s fitting that House Stark is shown swearing fealty in this moment; House Stark and House Targaryen will eventually unite to defeat this threat, the Starks' past loyalty to the Targaryens perhaps one small signal of this future alliance.) [ 200 years before Ned Stark is named Hand of the King](https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a40896343/house-of-the-dragon-setting-time/)—the first season of Game of Thrones. We, of course, know this threat to be the White Walkers and the (One house swearing fealty before Stark: “Baratheon,” the surname of King Robert who rules the Seven Kingdoms at the start of Game of Thrones.) The name “Rickon” will also seem familiar, as this is the name of Eddard (Ned) and Catelyn Stark’s youngest child, who died at 11 during the Battle of the Bastards.

Instead of a typical response about technical difficulties, HBO Max offered viewers advice on how to overcome the crash and watch 'House of the Dragon.'

A small portion of users attempting to connect via Fire TV devices had issues and we worked directly with impacted users to get them into the platform.” But several HBO Max subscribers were still tweeting about the crash come Monday morning. “Let us know if that helps!” Many also tweeted their complaints to HBO Max while the app was down. [the pilot episode of “House of the Dragon”](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-08-21/house-of-the-dragon-childbirth-scene-aemma-viserys-targaryen) debuted on the West Coast. [the “Game of Thrones” prequel series](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-08-19/house-of-the-dragon-review-hbo-game-of-thrones) reported experiencing an outage on the streaming platform, according to [DownDetector.com](https://downdetector.com/status/hbo-max/).

Richard Lawson and Josh Wigler break down the return to Westeros, the cost of all that violence, and why it might be fair to read a little into that moment ...

[recap](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/08/house-of-the-dragon-season-1-episode-1-recap) as well as [his guide](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/08/house-of-the-dragon-characters-whos-who) to telling all those silver-haired Targaryens apart. Anthony Breznican [also caught up](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/08/house-of-the-dragon-birth-scene) with series creator Ryan Condal and book author George R.R. But, as hosts Richard Lawson and Josh Wigler discuss on this week’s Still Watching, the real world has changed a bit since Game of Thrones ended in 2019, and what viewers expect has probably changed too.

'House Of The Dragon' Pulls In 2.6M U.S. Streaming & Linear Households, Highest Same Day Viewership YTD.

[HBO](https://deadline.com/tag/hbo/) and HBO Max had a hit on their hands with [ the premiere of ](https://deadline.com/2022/08/house-of-the-dragon-premiere-recap-hbo-1235096251/) [House of the Dragon](https://deadline.com/tag/house-of-the-dragon/), which in Samba TV-measured U.S. “Diehard GoT fans have been eagerly anticipating more from the franchise and they turned out in force for House of the Dragon, with the HBO program generating the biggest single day premium cable or streaming viewership premiere in 2022. Gen-Z (Adults 20-24) and millennials (Adults 25-34) both over-indexed in viewership by 4% and 1%, respectively. Samba TV also says that House of the Dragon exceeded initial same-day viewership of Netflix’s tentpole series Stranger Things (1.2 million U.S. Martin Game of Thrones spinoff, and the figures HBO are releasing later Monday are bound to be higher. Samba TV doesn’t measure mobile, however, their sample includes a panel of 3 million terrestrial TVs, weighted to the U.S.

The 'Game of Thrones' prequel drew impressive numbers for HBO, becoming the year's most-watched premiere on premium cable and streaming.

And with [HBO Max preparing to combine with Discovery+](https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2022/08/04/hbo-max-and-discovery-will-combine-into-one-streaming-service/), big numbers from a franchise become even more critical as HBO tries to make its value clear to its new owners at Discovery. Now I write and edit for businesses... With more and more streaming services joining the fray, the TV landscape has transformed over the past three years. All the streamers are [searching for ways to stand out](https://www.forbes.com/sites/tonifitzgerald/2022/08/12/5-lessons-from-disneys-successful-challenge-to-netflix/?sh=216bbff18abc) amid the [fight for eyeballs](https://www.forbes.com/sites/tonifitzgerald/2022/08/06/streaming-wars-latest-chapter-plays-out-on-out-of-home-ads/?sh=763e978f4260). “Just as Stranger Things’ most recent season four, volume two drop surpassed its volume one audience, HBO must look to innovative marketing that drives incremental audience growth to break through today’s saturated content marketplace.” households, according to Samba TV, a technology company that provides real-time audience analytics, including viewers who watched the show from 9 p.m.

George RR Martin's world struts its way back on to our screens with utter confidence and brio. As captivating as it is gruesome, it's like a greatest hits ...

There is a specificity that both works in its favour and occasionally weakens its impact. There is a lot of dialogue. I’d argue that Game of Thrones thrived on the strength of its villains, far more than the virtues of its heroes, and A prequel to Game of Thrones, it begins 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen, and it chronicles the fall of the Targaryen dynasty, though after watching the first six episodes of squabbling and scheming, the real question is how it can possibly take two centuries to collapse. [House of the Dragon](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/house-of-the-dragon) (Sky Atlantic) is simply spectacular. It is a greatest hits playlist of Westeros at its meatiest.

The network said viewership for the “Game of Thrones” spinoff was the biggest start for a series in its history.

Martin ](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/21/arts/television/george-rr-martin-house-of-the-dragon.html)— were concerned that the backlash would turn off viewers from giving “House of the Dragon” a chance. [people associated ](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/10/arts/television/house-of-the-dragon-hbo-got.html)with the show — including the writer who created the “Thrones” universe, [George R.R. That episode, which aired in December, averaged 1.7 million viewers, a record for “Succession,” the network said. “House of the Dragon,” which benefited from a lavish marketing campaign, has nine more episodes this season. A strong debut from “House of the Dragon” is a source of comfort to HBO executives, and may be evidence that viewers are craving more stories from Westeros. “Game of Thrones,” the cable network said on Monday.

Downtime on series release days has become commonplace as people now spend more time streaming TV content than watching it through cable.

[Fauci stepping down in December](/2022/08/22/fauci-stepping-down-in-december) [taken classified material](https://www.axios.com/2022/08/13/mar-a-lago-search-warrant-trump-fbi) from the White House to Mar-a-Lago. Why it matters: Since being ousted in April, Khan has been mobilizing huge crowds while railing against the government and breaking a long-standing taboo by criticizing the military. [on terrorism charges](https://www.axios.com/2022/08/21/pakistan-imran-khan-terrorism-charges). That means they can all point fingers at one another when there's a problem. What they're saying: "'House of the Dragon' was successfully viewed by millions of HBO Max subscribers last night.

"House of the Dragon" — the highly anticipated "Game of Thrones" prequel — brought in roughly 10 million viewers for its first episode across linear and HBO ...

More information about [cookies](/cookie) [cookies](/cookie), [revised Privacy Policy](/privacy)and [Terms of Service](/terms). [House of the Dragon](http://www.cnn.com/2022/08/22/entertainment/house-of-the-dragon-recap/index.html)" — the highly anticipated " [Game of Thrones](http://www.cnn.com/2022/08/21/entertainment/house-of-dragon-what-to-know-cec/index.html)" prequel — brought in roughly 10 million viewers for its first episode across linear and HBO Max platforms in the US on Sunday night, the network said on Monday.

Not so great for the Northern Irish, Maltese and Croatian travel executives, as the series bypasses these locations used so frequently in Game of Thrones.

In 1954, Francis St Aubyn, 3rd Lord St Levan, gave a large part of the island to the Trust. The Peak District’s green rolling hills will also be featured after Smith was seen filming in the area. The deal allows the family a 999-year lease to live in the castle and a licence to operate the visitor business. It appeared briefly in the James Bond film Never Say Never Again, as well as in the more irreverent Johnny English starring Rowan Atkinson. Not so great for the Northern Irish, Maltese and Croatian travel executives, as the series bypasses these locations used so frequently in Game of Thrones. The tidal island, which has been home of the St Aubyn family since approximately 1650, is only passable between mid-tide and low water using a cobbled causeway. It is not the Mount’s first brush with screen fame. A tournament scene was reportedly filmed at Caesar’s Camp near Aldershot. It’s good news if you are the tourist chiefs in England, Spain and Portugal, because you are about to get a big boost from devoted fans. House of the Dragon: Where was the show filmed? [See the first photos from Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon](https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/bravo/news/125043973/see-the-first-photos-from-game-of-thrones-prequel-house-of-the-dragon?rm=a) [Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon shares first look at its fire-breathing stars](https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/bravo/news/123606244/game-of-thrones-prequel-house-of-the-dragon-shares-first-look-at-its-firebreathing-stars?rm=a)

The network said viewership for the “Game of Thrones” spinoff was the biggest start for a series in its history.

[people associated ](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/10/arts/television/house-of-the-dragon-hbo-got.html)with the show — including the writer who created the “Thrones” universe, [George R.R. Martin ](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/21/arts/television/george-rr-martin-house-of-the-dragon.html)— were concerned that the backlash would turn off viewers from giving “House of the Dragon” a chance. That episode, which aired in December, averaged 1.7 million viewers, a record for “Succession,” the network said. “House of the Dragon,” which benefited from a lavish marketing campaign, has nine more episodes this season. A strong debut from “House of the Dragon” is a source of comfort to HBO executives, and may be evidence that viewers are craving more stories from Westeros. “Game of Thrones,” the cable network said on Monday. In early September, Amazon will premiere its own splashy fantasy series, “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.” [interview last month.](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/10/arts/television/house-of-the-dragon-hbo-got.html) “But it will have to do the work on its own to bring people in and to sustain the viewership.” Stories like this are possible because of our deep commitment to original reporting, produced by a global staff of over 1,700 journalists who have all dedicated themselves to helping you understand the world. [five other “Thrones” spinoff](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/10/arts/television/house-of-the-dragon-hbo-got.html) ideas in development. [House of the Dragon](https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/house-of-the-dragon-hbo),” the much-anticipated “Game of Thrones” spinoff, was the most-watched episode of an HBO series since … The network said viewership for the “Game of Thrones” spinoff was the biggest start for a series in its history.

Matt Smith would like Daemon to be played by Big Bird, but Milly Alcock thinks Count Von Count is more fitting. Here's all the Sesame Street characters the ...

“He’d be Balerion the Black Dread,” says Condal, referring to one of the most monstrous dragons in Westerosi history. [ this blog](https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/#196d790943ab) for all my TV recaps and reviews including every episode of House of the Dragon and the upcoming Rings of Power. “I think we need to be Statler and Waldorf,” he says, referring to himself and co-showrunner and Game Of Thrones director Miguel Sapochnik. Corlys is certainly a grouch, but once again Milly Alcock has a better idea: “Oscar the Grouch” she said, should “play Rhys.” She’s referring to Rhys Ifans who plays the ever-gloomy Otto Hightower, Hand of King Viserys, in the show. Some House Of The Dragon stars wanted the same Sesame Street character to play different House roles in this hypothetical parody. In the sketch, the lords and ladies of Jesteros need to figure out who will be the next King and to do so they play a game of chairs. At this point a red-haired Muppet pops up and says “The monster is blue and full of errors.” Olivia Cooke, who plays the grownup version of Alicent Hightower, isn’t much better when it comes to Sesame Street trivia. “He’s like a vampire when he counts.” To be fair, Daemon is definitely more of a vampiric character in the show—ruthless, white-haired and pale. It’s musical chairs, of course, which is basically as sensible a means to determine who gets to be king as picking the next spoiled—likely developmentally stunted—male brat in line based entirely on luck, age and Y chromosomes. The chairs the game is actually played with include a Baseball Bat Throne, a Ping Pong Paddle Throne and a Nine-Iron Throne. House Of The Dragon is a very, very dark and disturbing grimdark fantasy show, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun.

The first episode of "House of the Dragon" was seen by 9.986 million viewers across linear and HBO Max platform Sunday night, the largest audience of any ...

"House of the Dragon" tells the story of the Targaryen civil war that took place about 200 years before the events portrayed in "Game of Thrones." "House of the Dragon," only the second entrant in its Game of Thrones franchise, has a lot to prove, and to live up to. This is the largest audience of any new original series in the history of HBO, the company said. Discovery revealed that 9.986 million viewers across linear and HBO Max platforms tuned in to watch the first episode of the prequel series Sunday night. It seems, fans of the high fantasy series were at least intrigued enough to settle in to watch the first episode of the series, leading to HBO's biggest series premiere in its history. - The first episode of "House of the Dragon" was seen by 9.986 million viewers across linear and HBO Max platform on Sunday night.

The star at the centre of a harrowing scene in the Game of Thrones prequel has opened up.

We must learn to face it with a stiff lip," Aemma responds. She said the blood was "cold and wet, seeping all over". "We have royal wombs, you and I. "Behind that [prosthetic] belly was a whole bag full of blood and fluid. "My children couldn't really hear me for the next 48 hours, but that's probably the best thing on their part. You know, from all the screaming. In her conversation with Rhaenyra, Aemma tells her daughter she will be pregnant soon enough herself. And the medical experts – such as they are, given we are set in the high fantasy equivalent of medieval times – conclude Aemma will not survive. We're not going back there again, are we?' They were quite weighty, but being pregnant you do feel quite weighted." Without consulting his wife, Viserys chooses the latter option. And already it has offered up another scene on that same disturbing level. The scene in question shows a character named Aemma Arryn, Queen of Westeros, attempting to give birth.

HBO's “House of the Dragon” scored nearly 10 million viewers in the U.S. on Sunday, setting a viewership record for the debut of an HBO original series.

film and TV studio and the dumping of a nearly completed HBO Max movie “Batgirl.” Discovery staff two days before the premiere, Chief Executive David Zaslav signaled his company’s lofty goals for “House of the Dragon,” when thanking the team at HBO. “It was wonderful to see millions of ‘Game of Thrones’ fans return with us to Westeros last night,” Casey Bloys, HBO and HBO Max chief content officer, said in a statement. Martin’s “Fire & Blood” book, is set in the fictional Westeros about 200 years before the “Game of Thrones” mayhem. The original series, “Game of Thrones,” steadily grew into HBO’s biggest series ever. on Sunday, setting a viewership record for the debut of an HBO original series.