The age of the dragon is here and we are here for the ride. House of the Dragon, the prequel series to the critically aclaimed Game of Thrones premiered on HBO Max on August 21. As expected, fans of the beloved parent series trooped to the studios' streaming service to watch the highly anticipated prequel. However, it would seem the streamer was not entirely ready to take on all those who were tuning in to take flight with House Targaryen.
By the time the series premiere was available to be streamed, many subscribers complained of not being able to have access to the first episode. This prompted many to seek help in finding solutions to the challenge. The Twitter support account for HBO Max, @HBOMaxHelp was besieged by subscribers and viewers seeking assistance. HBO released a statement regarding the issue, stating that the crash, which reportedly affected some 3,000 viewers seemed to affect only individuals who were using Amazon devices to stream.
“House of the Dragon is being successfully viewed by millions of HBO Max subscribers this evening. We’re aware of a small portion of users attempting to connect via Fire TV devices that are having issues and are in the process of resolving for those impacted users.”
The full extent of just how many users were affected by the crash is not yet known, however, HBO Max is not averse to this sort of situation as the streamer also experienced similar challenges in the latter seasons of the original series.
House of the Dragon is based on George R.R. Martin's book, Fire & Blood, and will follow the story of House Targaryen and the civil war that would erupt in the wake of multiple claimants to the Iron Throne. The prequel series is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. The new series' first episode has already set the tone for a vicious tussle for power ahead, and we have been gradually introduced to the new players in this game for the Iron Throne. It already feels like all the scheming and plotting we have all associated with this franchise are already in full swing from the start.
House of the Dragon stars Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans among others.
You can watch the series premiere for House of the Dragon on HBO Max and catch up on all eight seasons of Game of Thrones as well. Check out the latest promo trailer below: