It was like everyone was watching Game of Thrones on Sunday night, and maybe because they are, almost every major celebrity posted something about Game of Thrones first episode.
Have a very important date with my couch tonight… excited is an understatement!!!!!! #GameofThrones #MotherofDragons pic.twitter.com/sRnmS8TMsX
— Reese Witherspoon (@ReeseW) April 15, 2019
According to HBO, a staggering 17.4 million viewers across cable, HBO Go, and HBO Now tuned into the Game of Thrones: Season 8 premiere on Sunday — exceeding Thrones‘ previous rating best from the finale of Season 7, which brought in 16.9 million viewers in July 2017.
The first episode of Thrones’ final season marked the biggest night of streaming action in HBO’s history, and that means glorious things for the service’s other series.
Barry, a tense dramedy starring Saturday Night Live alum Bill Hader, followed Thrones and saw its best night ever with 2.2 million viewers.
HBO’s long-running comedy VEEP, which followed Barry, experienced its best night since June 2016 with 1.5 million viewers.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, which followed VEEP, had its best night since August 2016, bringing in viewers of 1.7 million.
Game of Thrones: Season 7 averaged about 32.8 million viewers per episode and I can bet Season 8 will shatter that record.