When HBO and Prime Video revealed the premiere dates for their most eagerly awaited programmes in 2022, we knew we’d see a battle of epic tales. Although HBO disclosed a strategy that may lower the amount of viewers for Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power‘s first-day debut, we are not complaining. The network chose to release the complete first episode of House of the Dragon for free on YouTube today. Coincidence?
HBO doesn’t need need to increase interest in the Game of Thrones spinoff: Over 20 million people willing to return to Westeros after three years away made House of the Dragon the most watched title on the network and HBO Max in only the first week. The new show’s extraordinary success led to an early renewal for Season 2.
Prequel series Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which likewise enjoyed a successful second season, did so much earlier. In fact, showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay have already hinted at a five-season narrative, indicating that Amazon Studios appears to be so confident in its success. The Middle-Earth series is expensive, but it’s not hard to imagine it occurring. In fact, at a cost of $500 million for the entire season and $250 million for licencing, it is the most costly television season ever made. If you view the first two episodes that were made accessible today, you can definitely see how expensive it is, but that also implies that Lord of the Rings:
House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will be the talk of the town for the next six weeks or so as they both approach their respective seasons’ climaxes (story-wise) almost simultaneously. But thanks to HBO premiering new episodes on Sunday nights and Prime Video releasing new episodes on Friday nights, epic narrative aficionados are in for a real treat this weekend.
House of the Dragon is mostly based on the Westeros mythology that George R.R. Martin built in order to improve the narrative for A Song of Ice and Fire. It is inspired in part by books by the author of the novel series of the same name. The focus of the drama series, which takes place about 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, is the Targaryen House’s protracted rule before House Baratheon assumed control of the Iron Throne. The Targaryen ruling dynasty is introduced in the first episode, “The Heirs of the Dragon,” which also details their conflict over who will succeed them as occupants of the Iron Throne.
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