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Fantasy fans are in for a treat this fall with the release of two new prequel series, House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power. Both shows have enormous shoes to fill and already displayed great deals of potential in their first few episodes.
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House of the Dragon (HotD) which premiered Aug. 21, is the first spinoff show of many promised to be released in the coming years based on the popular TV series, Game of Thrones (GoT). The show broke records with over 44 million viewers and a $90 million budget for its final season. Yet, it’s been over three years since we watched the battle for the Iron Throne play out in the eighth season. The long-awaited season came with lots of drama and bloodshed, along with plenty of criticism (Yes, I’m talking about that change.com petition with over 1.8 million signatures to rewrite the last season). But, new beginnings (or in this case, prequels) hold promise, as HotD has already impressed its audience. HotD is based on the book Fire and Blood by George R. R. Martin, the universe creator, and mind behind the franchise. The series narrates the stories of House Targaryen, the house that brought us Daenerys Targaryen, and takes place nearly 200 years before the start of GoT.
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The Rings of Power (TRoP) has its own standards to uphold. It is not the first prequel media in the realm of fantasy writer J.R.R. Tolkien’s work. The Hobbit is already a prequel to The Lord of the Rings, the original movie series released in the franchise. Although, the books were released in the opposite order, as The Hobbit was published first in 1937 with the Lord of the Rings to follow in 1954. Both the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are some of the best-selling books of all time, with 150 million copies sold for the former and 100 million for the latter. On top of that, the third movie in The Lord of the Rings franchise, The Return of the King, is one of the highest grossing of all time, grossing over $1 billion. But, TRoP is the first TV show to join the collection. TRoP begins in the Second Age, thousands of years before the plot of Lord of the Rings, and follows the creation of the 20 rings of power along with Sauron’s rise to power. It is based on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, specifically the appendices of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Tolkien’s works are legendary and inspired hundreds of fantasy works that have followed in the last 80 years, including GoT itself. So, in truth, there is no way to compare these two shows, nor pit them against each other. Creators and showrunners from both series have acknowledged that they do not wish to compete. In a Hollywood Reporter article, HotD Co-Creator and Executive Producer Martin stated, “It’s not a death match or anything. I wish them success. I hope they wish for our success. We don’t have to be bracketed together.” TRoP show runners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay also commented on the issue, making it clear they do not wish for a contest. They said, “The only competition is the pressure we put on ourselves, and the competition we have with ourselves for what we can put out into the world. …And anyone else working on storytelling, we wish them well,” in a TV Insider article.
The two appeared on the media stage with a bang. HotD already released five episodes on HBO Max and TRoP released four on Amazon Prime, premiering 11 days later. According to Variety, the HotD premiere brought in nearly 10 million views in the United States alone, while TRoP gathered 25 million global viewers. However, the numbers for TRoP are self-reported data from Amazon, while HotD’s numbers come from HBO’s streaming data solely from the US. In terms of reviews, HotD earned a score of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, while TRoP received 84%. But, HotD also acquired an audience score of 85%, while TRoP garnered a 39% audience score. Despite the fact that it seems that HotD may be more well-liked by viewers, both shows present extreme promise and have already broken viewership records on their respective streaming sites.
Both series will continue to release weekly episodes throughout the fall. Season 1 of HotD will contain ten episodes while Season 1 of TRoP will consist of eight episodes. Regardless of which show they prefer, fantasy viewers may now look forward to an autumn full of dragons, swords, ancient myths, legends, battles, and betrayal.
