Pop Culture

'Game of Thrones' Season 7 Premiere Slays HBO Viewership Records

'GOT' still got it.

Arya Stark in 'Game of Thrones.'
Image via Twitter
Twitter

Game of Thrones returned on Sunday after a little more than a year-long hiatus, and viewers came out in record-setting numbers. Thrones' Season 7 premiere episode "Dragonstone" became the most watched debut in HBO history after netting an astonishing 10.1 million viewers. Last night's Jeremy Podeswa-directed episode shattered the show's previous high mark of 8.89 million from the Season 6 finale "The Winds of Winter."

The premiere amassed an additional 6 million viewers through the network's DVR option, as well as from the HBO Go and HBO Now streaming services. The viewership totals from "Dragonstone" also represents a 27 percent increase from the previous season's debut episode "The Red Woman."

As for the historic episode itself, Game of Thrones started the latest season off with a bang, thanks to the badass cold—see what we did there?—opening featuring Arya Stark that had everyone on Twitter talking.

Then, of course, there was that Ed Sheeran cameo.

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