[imagesource: HBO/Binge/Foxtel]

Pretty much every Tom, Dick, and Harry was watching the hotly anticipated first episode of House of the Dragon when it premiered on Sunday night in the US (Monday morning our time).

The prequel series was a bit of a gamble off the back of the success of Game of Thrones, but the first episode has been devoured by audiences all over the world.

It was so widely watched that it made HBO Max crash, and overall, attracted an audience of 9,986 million viewers across linear and streaming platforms in the US.

A video has gone viral on Twitter, showing the windows of an apartment building in Brooklyn, New York City, reflecting the light from residents’ TVs as they all simultaneously watched the premiere, per NewsAU.

Big #HouseoftheDragon night in New York City apartments @HBO pic.twitter.com/xINets7U65

— BK (@Bkillinit) August 22, 2022

The moment was too cool not for the House of the Dragon Twitter account to get in on the fun:

All the dragons roared as one. https://t.co/gZJPUBmxPE

— House of the Dragon (@HouseofDragon) August 22, 2022

The record-breaking number of viewers for the first episode makes it the most-watched premiere in HBO’s 51-year history.

In Australia, too, local streaming services Binge and Foxtel reported that the debut became the number one premiere for the platforms.

Think of that massive number in contrast to the 2,2 million viewers that GOT amassed when it premiered the pilot back in 2011, although those numbers rose to 19,3 million viewers (in the US, alone) by the eighth season finale in 2019.

No wonder HBO Max crashed on Monday night, noted Uproxx.

HBO Max’s account made a quip about the outage, to which the HBO Max support account genuinely responded:

The awkward moment was deleted, but you know, screenshots last forever.

Despite GOT fans lamenting the finale episode for being too rushed and unsatisfying, the response to House of the Dragon has already been roaring with positivity:

My ass was SO bitter for so long but one episode of #HouseoftheDragon and I’m like LFGOOOO pic.twitter.com/WNMjOqEUr4

— phyllis ⚾️ (@phyfash) August 22, 2022

so we all just collectively crawled back to HBO quicker than Jaime went back to Cersei #HouseOfTheDragonHBO #HouseoftheDragon pic.twitter.com/FLgYeRQwZW

— Trina Watters (@trinawatters) August 22, 2022

One episode in and I’m absolutely and completely OBSESSED with #HouseoftheDragon

I mean ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/IDEYzzo6gP

— (@skarsgaryen) August 22, 2022

There are a total of nine episodes left in the first season, which will air weekly on Sundays (US time) on HBO and HBO Max (if it can continue to handle the heat).

House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of GOT, focusing on the rise and fall of House Targaryen, the family famed for their white hair, tempers, and dragons.

[sources:newsau&uproxx]