HBO confirms House of the Dragon will return after debut broke viewing records

House of the Dragon is based on George RR Martin’s book Fire & Blood

US premium cablenet HBO has ordered a second season of Game of Thrones spin-off series House of the Dragon.

The renewal was all but guaranteed after the debut episode broke ratings records for HBO when it premiered on Sunday night. HBO did not set a premiere date for the second instalment.

Since it premiered on Sunday night, the first episode has been seen by 20 million viewers across linear, on-demand and HBO Max platforms in the US, according to HBO. Around 9.99 million people watched the premiere on HBO and HBO Max on Sunday night.

Set 200 years prior to the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon is based on George RR Martin’s book Fire & Blood and tells the story of House Targaryen.

Martin serves as co-creator alongside Ryan Condal, who is the co-showrunner with Miguel Sapochnik. All three are exec producers, with Sara Hess, Jocelyn Diaz, Vince Gerardis and Ron Schmidt.

The season one cast includes Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno and Rhys Ifans.

“Our phenomenal cast and crew undertook a massive challenge and exceeded all expectations, delivering a show that has already established itself as must-see TV,” said Francesca Orsi, executive VP of HBO programming.