House of the Dragon season 1

The first season of the American fantasy drama television series House of the Dragon premiered on HBO on August 21, 2022, in the United States and concluded on October 23, 2022. It consists of ten episodes, each of approximately 1 hour. The series is based Fire & Blood, a prequel novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin, adapted for television by Ryan Condal and Martin. Following the conclusion of its predecessor series Game of Thrones, in October 2019, HBO ordered the first season, which began filming in April 2021, primarily in the United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal.

The story takes place upon the continent of Westeros, set nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. The season follows the rise of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen to the throne after her father King Viserys I Targaryen chooses her as his heir. However, Viserys' decision breaks an inheritance principle and a century tradition of only naming male heirs, which leads to a turmoil that slowly starts to divide the House Targaryen, while Rhaenyra struggles with the responsibilities of being the heiress of the Iron Throne. As the tensions between the Targaryen's grow, the Hand of the King Otto Hightower conspires to ursurp House Targaryen and place House Hightower as the rulers of the Seven Kingdoms, by having his daughter Alicent Hightower married with Viserys and fathering the Prince Aegon II Targaryen.

House of the Dragon features a large ensemble cast, including established actors such as Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Sonoya Mizuno, and Graham McTavish. Newer actors were cast as the younger generation of characters, such as Emma D'Arcy, Milly Alcock, Emily Carey, and Fabien Frankel. Critics praised the character development, visual effects, writing, Ramin Djawadi's score, and performances; Smith's and D'arcy's performances as Daemon Targaryen and Rhaenyra respectively, received multiple accolades. However, the pacing, specifically of the time jumps, and the dark lighting of some scenes were criticized. The first season won one of the nine Emmy Awards for which it was nominated, with one of the nominees being for Outstanding Drama Series. The series premiere was watched by over 10 million viewers across the linear channels and HBO Max on the first day, the biggest in HBO's history. A second season was ordered in August 2022.