Los Angeles, Sep 21 (IANS): The viewership of OTT series 'House of the Dragon' is on an upward curve in the U.S. The fifth episode of the 'Game of Thrones' prequel series, reports Variety, clocked 3 per cent more U.S. viewers than the fourth.

Additionally, Season 1 is averaging 29 million viewers per episode across its first five episodes. That's a massive audience for any premium cable series, and a very promising sign that it is going the way of its predecessor.

'Game of Thrones' averaged more than 44 million viewers per episode for its eighth and final season in 2019.

According to Variety, the 'House of the Dragon' Episode 5 statistics combine Nielsen's measurement of Sunday's four cable airings with the number of streaming viewers across HBO Max and other HBO platforms.

When isolating linear viewership, according to Nielsen, 2.576 million people tuned into the episode on HBO itself, a 4 per cent increase when compared to last week's 2.474 million cable viewers.

Variety further states that overall, linear and streaming data both imply that 'House of the Dragon', now halfway through its first season, has found its core audience.

'House of the Dragon' will see a narrative and casting shift after this episode, as Episode 6 will mark a major time jump.

The younger actors, such as Milly Alcock as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Emily Carey as Lady Alicent Hightower, will trade their roles over to older actors Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke, respectively.