House of the Dragon Season 2 viewership has already halved, and fans think there’s a problem
HBOOne episode down and there’s much to discuss in House of the Dragon Season 2 — including why viewership has already halved since Season 1.
In a nutshell, it’s all kicked off in the House of the Dragon Season 2 premiere. Blood and Cheese killed off the wrong “son for a son,” Alicent and Criston are inappropriately having sex through it all, and Matt Smith’s Daemon is as conniving and sexy as ever.
It’s rich dramatic pickings, but it turns out that only half of House of the Dragon viewers even bothered to watch Episode 1. According to Samba TV, only 1.3 million tuned into Season 2 compared to the Season 1 debut of 2.3 million. In addition, only 7.8 million streamed it, compared to last season’s 9.9 million.
For fans, the reason why is simple — it’s taking too long for new seasons to come out. House of the Dragon Season 1 was released in 2022, with Season 2 two years later… and it could take another two years for the now-confirmed third season to arrive, too.
“Makes sense with the 2-year hiatus. More people will probably start to tune in after seeing reactions to Episode 1,” one fan posted on Reddit.
A second agreed: “They waited too long for the second season,” while a third weighed in: “I think that the long time between seasons is a problem. I was more excited about Season 2 a couple of years ago than I was last week. The same thing has happened with Yellowjackets.”
This doesn’t mean there couldn’t be a second wind — particularly given how much interest changes from the original books have made across social media. There are still seven episodes left to go, and it’s all to play for.
“Unfortunate; I am digging it immensely but I guess maybe many of the general audience was nonplussed with last season’s conclusion? Or just the 2-year delay and maybe people waiting to binge?” another fan mused.
“Well, either way, I hope they are able to keep going until the eventual conclusion, whenever that is (I feel like 4 seasons ideally, 5 max, is what could be milled from the source material).”
No production plans for House of the Dragon Season 3 have been confirmed yet.
Make sure you check out our breakdown of the Targaryen kings and guide to the wildest House of the Dragon fan fiction online. You can also find other new TV shows streaming this month.