Break out the party poppers and send the champagne corks a’flyin’ because HBO and HBO Max are on a hot streak with two of their premiere series, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and The Pitt. According to HBO, the Game of Thrones spinoff “is averaging close to 13 million U.S. viewers per episode, with five of the first season’s six episodes available to date. That puts it on pace to be the third biggest series debut in the history of HBO Max.”
Dunk and Egg Put Up Numbers
The season finale for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms airs on February 22, while Episode 5, titled “In the Name of the Mother,” recently pulled 9.2 million U.S. cross-platform viewers in its first three days. Moreover, HBO says three-day viewership for each episode is increasing week to week, except for Episode 4, which debuted on Super Bowl Sunday. I’ll tell you what, though, chances are Episode 4 was more entertaining than 3/4 of the Super Bowl, amiright?
The Pitt continues to dominate
Stepping away from the grime of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, we find The Pitt Season 2 averaging approximately 12 million viewers per episode. That is 50% better than the show’s freshman season, and it also saw week-to-week growth.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is an adaptation of the novella The Hedge Knight, which, according to HBO, is set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne. The memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory; great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends.
Set ninety years before Game of Thrones, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms follows Dunk, a squire who takes on the mantle of Ser Duncan the Tall when he takes the armor of a dead knight. Dunk is followed by Egg, a young boy who serves as his squire and accompanies him on his misadventures involving a love interest named Tanselle and the Targaryen clan chasing them. The Dunk and Egg tales have a considerably lighter tone while still keeping the same style as the Game of Thrones series.
Our Thoughts on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Meanwhile, JoBlo’s own Alex Maidy loved The Pitt Season 2, saying in his review, “With only minor quibbles that come to mind, I once again loved every intense episode I have seen of The Pitt’s second season. I loved ER during its initial run, but The Pitt adopts a no-nonsense approach, bombarding audiences with the intensity of a shift in an emergency room without getting bogged down in soap opera subplots. I know the potential for any emergency room to deal with this many shocking cases in a single day is likely unrealistic, but it is still closer to reality than the fictional settings of Grey’s Anatomy or Chicago Med. The Pitt is still a television show and one that breaks the expectations that we have come to accept from medical dramas. This is a great show that tackles current events from an informed perspective while remaining incredibly entertaining. With returning favorites and new additions mixing into a solid ensemble, The Pitt continues to be one of the best shows of the year, only a week into January.”
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