The first episode of the Game of Thrones prequel drew 9.986 million viewers across linear and HBO Max platforms — it premiered on both simultaneously and crashed the streaming service! — and that’s the largest audience for any new original series in the history of HBO. Those numbers also make it the largest series launch on HBO Max across the U.S., LatAm, and EMEA, driving an unprecedented level of concurrent streams on the platform. Typically, Sunday night viewership for an HBO series will represent just 20-40 percent of the show’s total gross audience.

“It was wonderful to see millions of Game of Thrones fans return with us to Westeros last night. 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,” Casey Bloys, Chief Content Officer, HBO & HBO Max, said in a statement. “We look forward to sharing with audiences what else George, Ryan, and Miguel have in store for them this season.”

The new series was also a hit across social media. House of the Dragon was the longest trending topic on Twitter on premiere day. It ranked #1 for 14 hours straight, as well as trending #1 on Google Trends.

It should also be no surprise that leading up to the prequel’s premiere, people were watching the original series on HBO Max. It just wrapped its strongest week on the streaming service to date, capping off a seven-week stretch of week-over-week growth in engagement leading up to the House of the Dragon premiere. (The weekly average for Game of Thrones in August is nearly 90 percent above June and nearly 50 percent above July.)

House of the Dragon is based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire and Blood. He co-created the series with Ryan Condal, who serves as co-showrunner with Miguel Sapochnik. The three executive produce with Sara Hess, Jocelyn Diaz, Vince Gerardis, and Ron Schmidt. Condal also serves as writer and Sapochnik as director.

House of the Dragon, Sundays, 9/8c, HBO