'Game of Thrones' hits record viewership in season 8 premiere
April 15, 2019 at 16:02 PM EDT
Coming back from its longest hiatus in series history, "Game of Thrones" earned its highest showing for a first-run telecast with an average of 17.4 million viewers, exceeding the previous series high of 16.9 million viewers, who tuned in for the season seven finale in 2017.