House of The Dragon, the highly anticipated Game of Thrones prequel series, is coming to Sky and its streaming service NOW in the UK, and will air at the same time as the US.
The ten-episode series will launch in the US on Sunday, August 21, but will air on Sky and NOW at the same time – meaning August 22 here in the UK.
Subsequent weekly episodes will continue to air at the same time as the US, and each episode will also be available on-demand once the initial real-time airing is done.
This means that UK viewers won’t have to fear spoilers online, and can watch alongside the US (and many other parts of the world) – though keep in mind that the first airing of each episode will likely be in the middle of the night on our side of the pond.
The show will be available in all Sky markets including the UK & Ireland, Italy, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
House of The Dragon is based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood book, and is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones.
The series tells the story of House Targaryen, and chronicles the conquest that united the Seven Kingdoms under Targaryen rule through the Dance of the Dragons: the Targaryen civil, war that nearly ended their dynasty forever
House of The Dragon stars Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Sonoya Mizuno, Fabien Frankel, and Rhys Ifans.
In the US, House of The Dragon is exclusive to HBO and its streaming service, HBO Max.
Although HBO Max has been expanding to other European countries, it’s not expected to launch in the UK anytime soon – at least until 2025.
One of the reasons for the HBO Max delay is the agreement they signed with Sky in 2019, which made Sky and NOW the exclusive home of HBO’s shows in the UK, for several years.
Thanks to that deal, Sky and NOW will be getting House of The Dragon and other upcoming HBO and WarnerMedia programmes.
22 August 2022. #HouseOfTheDragon pic.twitter.com/yQvHuyeASN
— Sky TV (@skytv) March 30, 2022
With the original Game of Thrones series being so popular, the prequel series is bound to bring a lot of new viewers to Sky – assuming it ends up being good, of course.
How To Watch House of The Dragon On Sky And NOW
House of The Dragon will become available to watch on August 22, 2022, both live and on-demand, on Sky Atlantic as well as on NOW.
An exact hour hasn’t been announced yet – but Sky says it will be available “at the same time as the US” – which means the middle of the night here in the UK (and on-demand following that).
NOW (Formerly NOW TV- they changed their name) is Sky’s no-contract streaming service – a cheaper TV platform that gives you flexible packages (“memberships”) of content that can be watched on a variety of streaming devices.
The plans include the Entertainment Membership for TV shows, the Cinema Membership for movies, and the Sky Sports Membership. (See our full NOW review here).
For House of The Dragon on NOW, you will need the Entertainment Membership, which currently costs £9.99/month (You can sometimes find cheaper ways to sign up for NOW – see our guide).
Sky subscribers will also be able to watch House of The Dragon on their Sky Q (or older) set-top boxes, as well as on Sky’s streaming-based TV – Sky Glass.