Missed Game Of Thrones much? The season 8 premiere of the HBO show just set multiple records after it aired on Sunday night, finally reuniting us with our favorite characters after a year and a half of silence. According to Variety, 17.4 million people watched episode 1, titled "Winterfell," across multiple platforms, which includes HBOGo and HBO Now. Even those watching on the regular channel (11.8 million) bested last season's numbers, making this a multi-platform record for the show, topping season 7's 16.1 million total viewers across all platforms for the premiere.
And that's not even mentioning everything that went down on Twitter. Whether you were watching with a big group as part of a viewing party, or tucked away at home without distraction, a huge part of being a Game Of Thrones fan means talking about it online — and boy did we talk. According to Twitter, the season 8 premiere was the most tweeted about episode ever, with over 5 million tweets. That was probably why all ten slots on the global Twitter trends list was made up of Game Of Thrones content.
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Specifically, viewers were most buzzy about Jon Snow (Kit Harington) learning his true parentage, the episode beginning in general, and Jon Snow's magic dragon ride with Daenerys (Emilia Clarke). However, he was no match for Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright), who was the most tweeted-about character, putting Jon Snow in second place. They're followed by Daenerys, Sansa (Sophie Turner), and Cersei (Lena Headey), because who run the world? Girls (actually, queens).
As Variety noted, Game Of Thrones viewership has increased every season, with season 7 averaging 32.8 million viewers per episode. With season 8 made up of only six episodes, it becomes more urgent to tune in every Sunday and savor the final moments of George R.R. Martin's story. Sure, the author allegedly has another book up his sleeve — but if you thought waiting a year and half for season 8 was long, then I have some bad news for you about the books.