'House of the Dragon' is the most watched premiere in HBO history, the company said

Nearly 10 million people tuned in to the Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon Sunday, making it the most watched series premiere in HBO and HBO Max history, the company announced.

The series was also the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter Sunday, and garnered more than 2 million Google searches that day.

The cable-only ratings, measured by Nielsen, will not be available until Tuesday.

""It was wonderful to see millions of 'Game of Thrones' fans return with us to Westeros last night," said Casey Bloys, chief content officer for HBO and HBO Max. "'House of the Dragon' features an incredibly talented cast and crew who poured their heart and soul into the production, and we're ecstatic with viewers' positive response."

House of the Dragon is a prequel to Game of Thrones, set nearly 200 years before the events of the latter show. It is based on the novel Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin and tells the story of the House of Targaryen.

Ahead of the premiere of House of the Dragon, Game of Thrones had its highest weekly audience on HBO Max last week.

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