'House of the Dragon' season two confirmed after just one episode airs

House of the Dragon might not have even aired its second episode yet, but a second season has already been confirmed by HBO.

The Game Of Thrones spin-off made its highly-anticipated debut in the early hours of Monday morning - broadcast simultaneously on Sunday evening in the US - and has already been such a huge hit that another season has been secured.

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A short clip announcing the new season was tweeted by HBO on Friday, showing the programme's dragon logo with a blazing fire behind it, followed by a 2.

It was captioned: "Fire reigns. #HouseoftheDragon has been renewed for Season 2."

The prequel series is set 200 years before the events of Game Of Thrones and is based on George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood.

It stars Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, who is plunged into a bitter rivalry with his brother King Viserys (Paddy Considine) when the queen and their infant son both die, leading him to name daughter Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) as his heir rather than Daemon.

The series follows the history of the Targaryen dynasty and is shaping up to be just as bloodthirsty as Game Of Thrones.

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Episode two is due to air on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV at 2am on Monday, repeated on Sky at 9pm, but the timing of the episode's broadcast does not seem to have deterred viewers.

Apparently, the overnight viewing figures for the first episode were 1.39 million (expected to increase dramatically as a cumulative viewing figure for episode one), making it the biggest drama launch ever on Sky Atlantic and overtaking the launch of Game Of Thrones.

It's no surprise then that HBO has already committed to another season of the fantasy epic.

Zai Bennett, managing director of content at Sky, said following Monday's broadcast: "Viewing over the last 24 hours for House of the Dragon across Sky and NOW has been as epic as the show itself.

"The response has already been phenomenal - and we’re confident the figures will grow significantly once all on demand figures consolidate and we have the total picture of viewing."

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