Game of Thrones Ratings Surging

Season 3 of HBO's Game of Thrones is apparently going gangbusters as my recaps/reviews of the first five episodes ("Valar Doheris," "Dark Wings, Dark Words," "Walk of Punishment," "And Now His Watch Is Ended," "Kissed By Fire") indicate. Now comes word that lots more people are also watching the hit show, which has already been renewed for a fourth season. In fact, game of Thrones may soon outshadow HBO's biggest hit True Blood, which at this point is starting to look (more than) a little silly and long in the tooth.

The Hollywood Reporter reports:

Sunday's episode raked in 5.35 million viewers, up 9 percent from the prior week's record 4.9 million viewers. Across all plays for the night, the series brought in 6.7 million viewers.

The growth puts Game of Thrones in a very good position to move into True Blood's previously unchallenged status as HBO's top performer. Sunday's episode topped all original episodes of True Blood's 2012 season, including its 5.2-million-strong opener.

In gross viewership, Game of Thrones is also on track to grow by at least 15 percent this season. Its current cumulative average -- including originals, repeat broadcasts, DVR, HBO Go and On Demand -- puts it at 13.4 million viewers. That's up from last season's 11.6 million average.

hat/tip to Winter Is Coming