Fans of the "Game of Thrones" series, which ended three years earlier, were there for the launch of its prequel "House of the Dragon", the story of which takes place almost 200 years before the initial series, telling the story of the bloodthirsty Targaryen dynasty and its seventeen dragons.

The first episode gathered 9.98 million viewers when it aired on Sunday evening in the United States on HBO channels, (traditional channel and HBO Max streaming platform), achieving "the largest audience for a new original series in the history of HBO", detailed Monday evening in a press release the WarnerMedia group, parent company of HBO.

Some experts, however, qualified this assertion, pointing out that the series, being derived from "Game of Thrones", could hardly be called an "original series" and that the first episode of the last season of the cult saga brought together some 17, 4 million viewers.

"House of the Dragon", which mixes fantasy and political intrigue, begins at the height of the Targaryen dynasty whose power, which rests essentially on its mastery of dragons, is weakened by succession struggles.

The cast includes Emma D'Arcy (Wanderlust), Matt Smith (Doctor Who, The Crown), Rhys Ifans (The King's Man, Spiderman) and Olivia Cooke (Bates Motel, Ready Player One) and Paddy Considine.

"Streaming Wars"

Warner Bros.

Discovery, born of the merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery, can be proud of the success of the first episode as this new American entertainment giant tries to find its place in the midst of what is dubbed the "streaming wars".

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Already on the horizon is a strong competitor for "House of the Dragon", with the upcoming release of the first episodes of the series "The Rings of Power", derived from the universe of the "Lord of the Rings", literary saga fantasy created by JRR Tolkien.

Amazon Prime Video had acquired the rights to the Hobbits and Elves universe about five years earlier for $250 million.

The project, which should be spread over five seasons with a budget of more than a billion dollars, has already been called the most expensive series in history.

Each season is scheduled to last around ten hours, and the first two episodes will air starting September 2.

"great fantasy"

Creators as producers of "House of the Dragon" and "Rings of power" were careful not to speak of rivalry.

While HBO's new series has received generally good reviews, reviews for the Amazon series remain under embargo.

And the new media landscape actually makes any audience comparison more difficult than in the past: while HBO welcomed good early audience figures, Amazon will have no obligation to publish its own.

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Indeed, some protagonists in the more "traditional" Hollywood universe have noted that Prime Video, which produces both films and series, does not seem interested in the same figures as its apparent rivals.

John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners, told AFP earlier this year that the US organization was "very concerned" about Amazon, noting that the group was not looking to " profit" from its films and series, but rather wanted its customers to "shop and use the delivery services" of the e-commerce giant.

Fantasy fans, for their part, have expressed their wish that the two series will be a success.

Even George RR Martin, author of the 'Game of Thrones' literary saga, recently said in a blog post that he hopes the two shows represent "great television", and "great fantasy", making it more likely that the genre is even more present in popular culture.

© 2022 AFP