HBO House of the Dragon
Years after “Game of Thrones” ended, HBO is finally bringing a long-awaited prequel series to viewers’ television screens. “House of the Dragon” premieres on Sunday, August 21, at 9 p.m. Eastern.
If you don’t have cable, you’ll be able to watch new episodes of “House of the Dragon” via HBO Max after they air on HBO, but HBO Max no longer offers a free trial, so here are some other options for watching “House of the Dragon” online for free:
Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” HBO Max is available as an add-on to any of the packages (if you’re planning on keeping it long-term, you can get three months of HBO Max for free if you add it to “Choice” or above), and you can select any package and any add-on you want with your free five-day trial:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch “House of the Dragon” live or on-demand on the DirecTV Stream app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the DirecTV Stream website.
If you want to watch later, you can watch “House of the Dragon” on the HBO Max app (use your DirecTV Stream credentials to sign in), which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Samsung Smart TV, PlayStation 4 or 5, Xbox One or Series X/S, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet.
Hulu
Whether you already have Hulu or you want to sign up for a new subscription, HBO/HBO Max is available as an add-on to either Hulu or Hulu with Live TV. If you’re a new subscriber, you can start a free 30-day trial of regular Hulu plus the HBO add-on:
Once signed up, you can watch “House of the Dragon” live on the Hulu app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, Nintendo Switch, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Hulu website.
If you want to watch later, you can watch “House of the Dragon” on the HBO Max app (use your Hulu credentials to sign in), which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Samsung Smart TV, PlayStation 4 or 5, Xbox One or Series X/S, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet.
‘House of the Dragon’ Preview
HBO has already released multiple previews and trailers for “House of the Dragon.”
One of the trailers is called “Fire Will Reign.”
Here’s the official teaser trailer.
And here is the extended trailer that HBO released at Comic-Con.
The official synopsis for the new series reads: “The reign of House Targaryen begins. House of the Dragon, the prequel to Game of Thrones, is coming to HBO and HBO Max on August 21. Based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, the series, which is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, tells the story of House Targaryen.”
The series is co-created by Martin and Ryan Condal, and the showrunners are Miguel Sapochnik and Condal. Executive producers are Condal, Sapochnik, George R.R. Martin, Sara Hess, Jocelyn Diaz, Vince Gerardis, and Ron Schmidt.
Ramin Djawadi is the series’ composer.
Sapochnik grew in popularity as the director of some of the best episodes in the “Game of Thrones” series, including The Gift, Hardhome, The Winds of Winter, and Battle of the Bastards.
Sapochnik has said that he seeks to find the “emotional spine” of projects he directs, Slash Film shared. He said that “Battle of the Bastards” was about Jon Snow’s journey into darkness and rebirth, while “The Winds of Winter” was about ending a chapter and beginning a new era.
He cut one death scene before it got too graphic, but didn’t shy away from violence in the “Battle of the Bastards.”
“I wanted it to be in your face because we weren’t trying to color the audience with sleight of hand,” he told Slash Film. “War is cruel and horrific and brutal, and I didn’t want to dilute that idea. With the individual deaths, on the other hand, it seemed that there was no real need to dwell on them.”
Sapochnik’s parents immigrated to the United Kingdom in 1969 to escape political unrest, Variety reported. Many members of his family still live in Argentina today.
With Sapochnik at the helm, fans are excited about the prequel series and all that it could bring to the “Game of Thrones” universe. The new series premieres on Sunday, August 21.
READ NEXT: Hallmark Reveals Early Countdown to Christmas Lineup