House Of The Dragon Season 2 Debut Draws Far More Viewers Than Caitlin Clark, Stanley Cup Finals Games

The second season of "House of the Dragon" premiered with 7.8 million viewers in the U.S. on Sunday night.

The debut is well below the prequel's record-setting series premiere of 10 million viewers in August 2022. That was expected. The second season could not replicate the piqued-up interest of the first season's premiere, viewers' first trip back to Westeros since the "Game of Thrones" finale in 2019.  

Still, the interest in the "Thrones" universe remains significant. 

"Dragon" airs on HBO (a premium channel) and Max (a streaming service). And yet it topped highly-anticipated sporting events over the weekend that aired on broadcast television networks.

More people watched "Dragon" on Sunday than the Fever-Sky (Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese) game on CBS, the most-watched WNBA matchup in 23 years with 2.2 million viewers. The show also well outpaced the 3.1 million average of the Stanley Cup Finals on ABC Saturday.

Further, the 7.8 million average only accounts for viewers on Sunday. Per HBO, more than half of the show's viewers watch later in the week. Last season, episodes of "Dragon" often topped 20 million viewers after four days of streaming.

Other than the NFL and presidential debates, few broadcasts on television can draw more viewers than "House of the Dragon" can. 

"House of the Dragon" (Credit: HBO)

The numbers on Sunday bode well for HBO's plan to continue to expand the Westeros franchise. The network already ordered a second prequel series set to debut in 2025, titled "Knight of the Seven Kingdoms."

"Knight" is based on George R.R. Martin's 160-page novella "The Hedge Knight," of a much lighter tone than the 900-page epic novels on which "Thrones" and "Dragon" are based.

Here is HBO's official description of the new series, set to run six episodes during its first season:

"A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros … a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends."

Two other "Thrones" series – under the working titles "The Sea Snake/Nine Voyages" and "Aegon's Conquest" – are in the development stage, awaiting a response from HBO.

That said, neither series is a sure bet to pass through production. 

In 2019, HBO shot a pilot for "Thrones" prequel series called" Bloodmoon." The synopsis was intriguing, set almost 5,000 years before "Thrones." 

"Bloodmoon" intended to depict the events of the Long Night and the still-untold origins of the White Walkers. However, the network axed the project after viewing the pilot.

HBO also declined to greenlight a proposed Jon Snow sequel series called "Snow," among others. 

At OutKick, we preferred HBO to move forward with "Snow" over "Dragon" or another prequel. 

Granted, "House of the Dragon" has, so far, exceeded expectations. Based on the numbers, viewers agree.