"House of the Dragon" Season 3 Finale Reached 21 Million Viewers in Three Days

"House of the Dragon" wrapped its third season on HBO Sunday night, and the finale episode reached 21 million viewers within its first three days on air. More than 11 million of those viewers were in the US.

That total combines Nielsen's linear viewership measurement on the HBO cable channel with Warner Bros. Discovery's own viewing count on HBO Max. The figures point to a largely stable trajectory throughout the season: only a 2 percent drop compared to season 3's premiere audience of 21.5 million.

WBD did not disclose viewership numbers for episodes 2 through 7, and it also didn't share a three-day total for the season 2 finale back in 2024. Still, it's worth noting that the season 3 premiere nearly matched the season 2 premiere's audience, with only a 2 percent gap.

Overall, the "Game of Thrones" sequel series is averaging 34 million viewers per episode this season, just under season 2's average of 35 million. According to HBO, that performance puts the show among HBO Max's three most-watched returning seasons of all time.

Sunday night also marked the seventh and final episode of "Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness." The sketch series created by and starring Larry David averaged around 4 million viewers per episode in the US, making it the second most-watched HBO comedy launch in HBO Max history. First place belongs to "Rooster," starring Steve Carell, which premiered earlier this year as the most-watched HBO comedy in 15 years outside of "Hung" (2009) and "Sex and the City" (1998).

The numbers show that HBO's strategy of centering its lineup around the Westeros universe is still working: the fact that viewership loss stayed around 2 percent throughout the season means the show has retained a loyal audience.