HBO’s next Game of Thrones spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, will deviate from the franchise’s norms in a couple of ways. According to a report from Daniel RPK on Patreon, this will include its episode runtimes, which are set to range from 30-35 minutes each. Most Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon episodes have tended to be around 60 minutes, with some going even longer, so this is a stark contrast to what we’ve been used to over the last 14 years. The show is also expected to have just six episodes in its first season which, combined with its runtime, will make it by far the shortest.
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The report also claims that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Seasons 2 and 3 have already been renewed. Though not yet officially confirmed by HBO, the company’s drama chief, Francesca Orsi, strongly suggested it would happen back in February, saying: “We’re already planning on how do we build this for the three seasons in total. We’re not picking it up officially, but it’s looking very good. We’re looking at it as a holistic piece, Seasons 2 and 3, because there’s three novellas.”
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1 is expected to release in early 2026, having been delayed from a planned 2025 debut (though an exact air date has never been confirmed). Filming on the show wrapped in late 2024, but it’s possible that, if HBO is indeed renewing it for two more seasons, they will film back-to-back. Given one of the show’s main characters, Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), is a child, avoiding him aging too much with multi-year gaps between production on each season would be a smart move.
As for the shorter episode runtime and count, while that may come as a surprise to some, it does make sense given the source material. The show is based on George R.R. Martin’s The Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas, which are much lighter in tone and smaller in scale than A Song of Ice and Fire and Fire & Blood, which were the basis for Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, respectively. The books follow Egg and Ser Duncan the Tall, aka Dunk, on adventures throughout the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. With the latter a hedge knight and the former his squire, this isn’t a story about battling for the Iron Throne or the fate of the realm.
With six episodes in the 30-35 minute range, the overall runtime of Season 1 would be around three hours, which is the same as the first novella’s audiobook length. This should mean they’re being extremely faithful to Martin’s books, with nothing being left out. There is still room to expand on some plot points and character arcs, of course, especially in fleshing things out for TV, but it seems more likely to be additive rather than making drastic (and presumably divisive) changes to the source material.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has the chance to be something very different for the Game of Thrones franchise. House of the Dragon stuck to the established playbook, and while it’s been a success, if this is to sustain multiple shows, it needs to be able to vary in tone and form. Rather than trying to expand things unnecessarily to try and fit what’s been before, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms sounds like it’s doing its own thing and staying true to the books, which should only be a good thing.
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