David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, issued an email to his team praising HBO’s “House of the Dragon” series in the middle of the studio postponing films like “Batgirl” and recent rounds of layoffs.
In order to explore a new “strategic change” in how the firm publishes content, including a decision to not release films directly to streaming, the company, which is planning to merge streaming services HBO Max and Discovery+, lay off personnel.
This resulted in the corporation putting greater emphasis on internal content, such as the impending “Game of Thrones” prequel, and leading to the cancellation of the $90 million movie “Batgirl.”
Zaslav began his email by writing, “In reaction to a screening of House of the Dragon,” “The whole HBO crew have shepherded what seems to be the next cultural revolution.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter’s reviews of the screening, HBO is planning to renew the series after its Sunday night debut.
I was astounded by the production value, depth of the plot, and force of the action when I got the opportunity to see the premiere in Los Angeles with (HBO president Casey Bloys) and the crew, Zaslav wrote.
We’re all really proud of it, and we can’t wait to share it with audiences throughout the globe.
We eagerly anticipate the beginning of this fascinating new journey and the opportunity to wow fans with the type of buzzworthy cultural events that the Targaryen family is certain to provide.
In his last remarks, Zaslav praised the company’s marketing efforts and said the prequel got “the biggest marketing campaign in HBO’s history.”
We almost touched 130 million individuals in the US alone, the speaker said. ‘It has also been wonderful to see teams from throughout the organisation collaborate with the HBO team on a cross-promotional campaign that has never been attempted before.
We accomplished all of this in a matter of months, demonstrating amply what we are capable of when our networks, streaming services, and digital and social channels collaborate in support of a single common purpose.
When we fully use the reach and special chances we bring to the table, we can truly make a difference, and I am forward to see what we will accomplish on next campaigns.
The show “looks set fair to become the game of political seven-dimensional chess” that its predecessor was, designed to reward diehard fantasy fans in full measure without alienating the masses that will propel it to the top of the ratings,” according to The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan, who gave House Of The Dragon four stars.
The Independent’s Nick Hilton gave the show another four stars and said, “The biggest tribute I can offer House of the Dragon is to note how much it feels like Game of Thrones.”
Darren Franich of Entertainment Weekly gave House Of The Dragon a “grade B” while lamenting the show’s sluggish start, which had a voiceover outlining Westeros history and arguing that “Dragon doesn’t soar instantly, but no House was created in a day.”
House of the Dragon varies from Game of Thrones in a number of ways, but it is astonishing how much it first seems to be and feels like a logical continuation of the programme, according to Stephen Kelly of the BBC.