HBO is bringing fans back to Westeros with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, a prequel set roughly 100 years before Game of Thrones and about a century after the events of House of the Dragon. The six-episode first season premieres Sunday, January 18, 2025, at 10/9c, and will be available on HBO and HBO Max.
The series follows the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall (“Dunk”), a hedge knight with no house or city, and Egg, the bald young boy who becomes his squire. Unlike previous series, this spinoff focuses on lowborn characters and smaller-scale stories. The first season follows Dunk and Egg as they try to enter a joust despite lacking the name, resources, and prestige of Westeros’ established knights.
Showrunner Ira Parker told TVLine that the series aims to stand apart from its predecessors: “What excites and scares me is that I don’t give people what they’ve seen before in the other series… We want it to feel like it belongs, and that it’s needed.”
When does A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms take place?
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a prequel to Game of Thrones that is set roughly 100 years before the events of the original series. (Which means it’s set about a century after the events of House of the Dragon.) According to Knight‘s official logline, the action takes place “in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne, and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory.”
What is A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms about?
The series is based on novellas, written by Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin, about a hedge knight named Ser Duncan the Tall (or “Dunk”) and Egg, the bald little boy who serves as his squire. Unlike most of the knights we’ve met in Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, Dunk serves no house nor city; when we meet him, the elderly knight he squired, Ser Arlan of Pennytree, has just died.
Season 1 follows Dunk’s adventures as he meets Egg and they attempt to enter a joust, despite lacking the name and resources to do so.
The tone is lighter and more comedic than Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon. George R.R. Martin described it as a “character piece” focused on duty, honor, and chivalry, without dragons, white walkers, or massive battles.
Cast highlights include:
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Peter Claffey as Dunk
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Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg
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Daniel Ings as Ser Lyonel Baratheon
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Bertie Carvel as Baelor Targaryen
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Danny Webb as Ser Arlan of Pennytree
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Additional cast members include Sam Spruell, Shaun Thomas, Finn Bennett, Edward Ashley, Tanzyn Crawford, Henry Ashton, Youssef Kerkour, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, and Daniel Monks.
Because the story takes place a century before the events of Game of Thrones, it’s unlikely that any familiar characters will appear, though fans will recognize several family names.
The series released its first trailer in October 2025 during the New York Comic Con panel.
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