More than anything, I’m encouraged that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms – the third TV series set in the world of Westeros and beyond created by George R. R. Martin – looks to be quite a different affair than Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon.
Here’s the official trailer:
We’ve got ourselves a genuine hero’s journey here
Both GoT and HotD feature massive casts packed to the gills with morally gray or flat-out evil characters by our Earthly standards. Even characters such as Daenerys Targaryen, where you think their intentions are largely noble, turn out to… well, if you know, you know.
But all indications are that in the form of Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey, who strikes a bit as a young Damian Lewis), we’ve got a genuine “good guy” to focus on, an honorable hedge knight looking to make his way in the world of Westeros.
What is a hedge knight, you ask? Well, a woman in the trailer disdainfully notes that “it’s like a knight but… sadder.”
It’s a much “smaller” story
Let’s be clear here: “smaller” is better, a sweet relief and respite after the epic sweep and continents-spanning stories going on in the other related series. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms gets to benefit too from the massive amount of worldbuilding and audience education that GoT especially laid down.
A focus on whimsy and even laughs
Even more sweet relief: the official trailer tips its hand that this is not a wall-to-wall grim and stuffy affair (I’m eyeballing you, House of the Dragon). A Knight is a show that lets the light in, and even some laughs while we’re at it.
For example, when the woman I noted above calls out hedge knights as “knights… but sadder,” Ser Duncan earnestly protests, “I’m not sad.”
Less of a focus on the dragon-y bits
While we very briefly see what looks like a dragon in the trailer, the focus seems to mostly be on grounded and non-magical doings with this series. I’m going to call that a big win from the jump, as it’s always been my strong belief that the focus on worldbuilding, characters, and politics is largely the stuff that elevates Game of Thrones to one of the best TV shows of all time.
Find out where Game of Thrones placed in Pop Thruster’s best 100 TV shows ever.
There also looks to be at least a fair amount of action, especially by way of tournaments and jousting. We also get a brief glimpse of what seems to be a climactic battle scene. So this won’t be all talk-fest, lest you be worried.
Dunk and Egg
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is based on Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg, and that lets us know the relationship between Ser Duncan, or Dunk, and his squire, Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), will be central to this tale. Intriguingly, the very young Egg we meet here is actually Prince Aegon Targaryen, who will eventually go on to sit on that special throne made of iron.
We have a Daniel Ings sighting, people
While he’s not central to the doings of the trailer, I must point out that Daniel Ings plays Ser Lyonel Baratheon, “The Laughing Storm.” This is all kinds of good news as I enjoy Ings in everything he participates in.
He’s also an incredibly versatile actor, playing dramatic roles, such as on The Crown, and he’s particularly incredible in comedic parts – I’m thinking of his hilarious turn as Luke on the fantastic Lovesick here.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premieres on HBO on Sunday, January 18th, 2026, with “The Hedge Knight.”