'House of the Dragon' renewed for Season 2 after series premiere

Aug. 26 (UPI) -- House of the Dragon will return for a second season on HBO.

The network confirmed in a press release Friday that it renewed the fantasy drama series for Season 2.

News of the renewal follows the Season 1 premiere, which aired Sunday. The episode drew the largest audience for any new original series in HBO history and has now been seen by over 20 million viewers across linear, On Demand, and HBO Max platforms in the United States.

House of the Dragon is based on the George R.R. Martin book Fire & Blood, which explores the history of House Targaryen. The series is a prequel to Game of Thrones, based on Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire book series.

Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emmy D'Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno and Rhys Ifans star.

The series is co-created and executive produced by Martin and Ryan Condal, who also serves as co-showrunner with Miguel Sapochnik.

"We are beyond proud of what the entire House of the Dragon team has accomplished with season one. Our phenomenal cast and crew undertook a massive challenge and exceeded all expectations, delivering a show that has already established itself as must-see TV," HBO EVP of programming Francesca Orsi said. "A huge thank you to George, Ryan, and Miguel for leading us on this journey. We couldn't be more excited to continue bringing to life the epic saga of House Targaryen with season two."

House of the Dragon airs Sundays at 9 p.m. EDT on HBO and is also available to stream on HBO Max.