Westeros is calling once more — but this time, it’s not the fiery world of dragons and queens we’re returning to. HBO’s newest prequel, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, is set to premiere on January 19, 2026, bringing George R.R. Martin’s tales of honor, loyalty, and quiet heroism to life. And for fans in the Middle East and North Africa, the series will be available exclusively on OSN+, the region’s home for HBO content.
Set around a century before Game of Thrones and decades after House of the Dragon, this new chapter strips away royal intrigue and supernatural forces to tell a humbler, more human story. Based on Martin’s The Tales of Dunk and Eggnovellas, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms follows Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey), a wandering hedge knight trying to live by his code, and his spirited young squire, Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), who’s hiding a royal secret that could shake the realm.
This is a Westeros without dragons or prophecies — just steel, sweat, and moral struggle. Co-created by George R.R. Martin and showrunner Ira Parker, the series promises a grounded, character-driven tone. Parker describes it as “gritty, intimate, and hopeful — a medieval story from the bottom up.” Unlike its predecessors, this one trades vast battlefields for muddy tourney grounds and focuses on the ideals of knighthood rather than the quest for power.
The first season consists of six half-hour episodes, adapting The Hedge Knight, the first of Martin’s novellas. If audiences tune in, two more seasons could follow — each covering one of the remaining stories, The Sworn Sword and The Mystery Knight.
The cast includes Finn Bennett (True Detective) as Prince Aerion “Brightflame” Targaryen, Bertie Carvel (The Crown) as Baelor “Breakspear,” and Sam Spruell (Fargo) as Prince Maekar, alongside Daniel Ings (The Gentlemen) as Ser Lyonel Baratheon. Expect a few familiar house names, but the tone here is distinctly smaller and more personal — a tale about courage, honor, and the cost of doing what’s right in a corrupt world.
George R.R. Martin himself has called it “as faithful an adaptation as a reasonable man could hope for,” emphasizing that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms isn’t about dragons or magic, but about the humanity that still flickers in a brutal age. Even the presentation reflects that humility — no sweeping intro sequence, just a plain title card between scenes, much like Dunk himself: honest, direct, and unadorned.
So, as Westeros readies for another ride, mark your calendars. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premieres January 19, 2026, on HBO and streams the same day on OSN+ across the MENA region. It’s time to trade royal courts for dusty roads, grand battles for moral duels — and rediscover the heart of Westeros through the eyes of a wandering knight and his mysterious squire.
