House of the Dragon gets an August premiere date, setting up a fall showdown with Lord of the Rings

The Hollywood Reporter

HBO announced today the Game of Thrones prequel series will premiere on Sunday, Aug, 21 -- 12 days before Amazon launches the long-awaited The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Friday, Sept. 2. With Game of Thrones running 10 weeks and Lord of the Rings spanning eight episodes, both shows will air concurrently and dominate the cultural conversation for two months. Both Lord of the Rings and House of the Dragon are poised to end their first seasons on the same weekend (Oct. 21 and 23, respectively). HBO setting House of the Dragon's premiere date less than two week before Lord of the Rings is "basically ensuring coverage of the former runs right through the previews and premiere for the latter," tweets former Amazon executive Matthew Ball, who adds: "This is a pretty clear sign HBO Max is very confident in the prequel." ALSO: Check out new images from House of the Dragon.