The new Game of Thrones prequel is great. But what should you know before watching?

3 hours ago 1

By Benji Wilson

January 18, 2026 — 11.30am

The reviews are in. The much-anticipated Game of Thrones prequel, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, is being praised as a total success – “a fresh take” on Westeros that will “satisfy old fans who’d grown restless”.

Thankfully, for those of us who tuned out of the Game of Thrones universe, the series works as a standalone show telling a straight-line story of a likeable nobody who comes in to town with his buddy, wanting nothing more than to prove himself. But if you’re feeling reluctant about diving back in, here’s everything you might want to know first.

Peter Claffey stars in new Game of Thrones prequel, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

How does this show fit in to the Game of Thrones universe?

Same universe, different time. A KOTSK is set in Westeros, the swords-and-sorcery quasi-medieval fantasy land that is the setting for both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. We’re roughly 100 years after the events of House of the Dragon and 100 years before Game of Thrones.

Is it also based on a George R.R. Martin bestseller?

Yep, three novellas called The Hedge Knight (1998), The Sworn Sword (2003) and The Mystery Knight (2010). They’re much smaller books than the doorstops that make up the Song of Ice and Fire series.

So is this a much smaller show?

It is. Some would say mercifully so. Set largely in a single location at a mid-level jousting tournament, AKOTSK gets six (shorter) episodes to tell the story of our new heroes Dunk (Peter Claffey) and Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell). Dunk is a peasant-born wannabe knight from the slums of Fleabottom who teams up with Egg, a bald stable boy desperate to be his sidekick. Together, they head to the small river town of Ashford Meadow for the big joust-off, hoping to earn their spurs.

Are there dragons?

No. They’ve all died out. If you want to fight at this tournament you do it on a horse.

Wait – those blond-haired bullies who come to the tournament look suspiciously like Targaryens…

They are. Baelor Breakspear Targaryen (Bertie Carvel), the heir to the throne, is here. And he’s joined by his brother Maekar Targaryen (Sam Spruell), cousin Valarr (Oscar Morgan) and Maekar’s pantomime villain son Aerion ‘Brightflame’ (Finn Bennett). The Targaryens think that the joust at Ashford Meadow is a bit beneath them but without their dragons the family needs to play nice with its subjects, so decides to play along. They spend most of AKOTSK wishing they were somewhere else.

Don’t I know that guy?

You mean Finn Bennett? Yes, he was the breakout star of HBO’s True Detective: Night Country. Or did you mean Bertie Carvel? He was Tony Blair in The Crown. Or perhaps you meant Daniel Ings, who was in The Crown, Sex Education and The Gentleman. Anyways, you get the idea: HBO has stacked AKOTSK full of top-notch British acting talent, just as it did with Game of Thrones.

Oh, just Brits?

And one crucial Aussie! Perth’s Tanzyn Crawford plays Tanselle ‘Too-Tall,’ a puppeteer who turns Ser Duncan’s head (and not just because they’re both tall).

Peter Claffey and Australian Tanzyn Crawford in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

Who else will I know from Game of Thrones?

You’ll also recognise the name Baratheon. Ings plays Ser Lyonel Baratheon, known as The Laughing Storm, a man who knows how to get a party started. Elsewhere, there are Fossoways (last seen in Game of Thrones season two) and Dondarrions (Beric was a key Game of Thrones player), but mostly this is about Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Egg.

Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell star in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

How tall is Duncan the Tall?

In the books Dunk is written as 6′ 10″ (2 metres) but Peter Claffey who plays him is 6′ 5″. He’s still a bruiser though – before he became an actor, Claffey played rugby union in the second row for Ireland.

What’s the tournament they’re all attending?

It’s a five-lane mega joust in which knights strap on 60 pounds of armour, jump on a horse, pick up a 15-foot wooden pole and then charge at the other guy to knock him off his mount. Initially, it’s a “joust of peace”, a fun-for-all-the-family sports event where no one is meant to get hurt. But this is the Game of Thrones universe, so you know it’s going to turn nasty.

Why did they choose this chunk of George R.R. Martin’s massive oeuvre for the next TV adaptation?

In part to keep Martin happy. He’s always said that the Dunk and Egg stories are his favourites. Also, Martin has criticised House of the Dragon for moving away from his source material, so this is a chance for HBO to show that they can stick to his script.

It’s also a good script to stick to – the Dunk and Egg novellas are funny, rely on a single point of view and show a spit-and-sawdust version of Westeros that feels new. There’s a feeling that viewers are a little punch drunk from 10 years of highborn machiavellians plotting to rule the world with huge armies and week-long battles. AKOTSK is a definite change of approach.

Okay, I think I’m in. But what sort of commitment are we talking here? Game of Thrones went on for ages…

Though this first season is just six episodes long, the show has already been renewed for a second season, with production under way in Ireland. Season two is expected in 2027. Whether we get more than that will, once again, depend on Martin.

“The big issue is that I have only written three novellas, and I have a lot more stories about Dunk and Egg in my f---ing head,” he recently told The Hollywood Reporter. “I’ve got to get them down on paper”.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premieres January 19 on HBO Max.