Game Of Thrones’ Next Spinoff Breaks An Epic Fantasy TV Trend, And That’s Good After So Many Cancellations

Game of Thrones’ next spinoff will take the franchise in a very different direction – and it’s a shift in the landscape of fantasy TV as a whole too. HBO’s juggernaut had already changed TV in myriad ways, not least with its shocking deaths, but by the time of Game of Thrones’ ending it was already clear that other networks and streamers were trying to cash-in on the fantasy TV boom, something that’s continued in the years since.

This ranges from things like The Witcher and His Dark Materials – both of which debuted the same year Thrones went out (in controversial fashion) – to Amazon’s The Rings of Power and HBO’s own Game of Thrones spinoffs like House of the Dragon. The stories and worlds have been varied, but there’s generally been a unifying sense of making them feel like epic, high fantasy and clearly targeting the same audience Thrones so perfectly captured. That’s understandable, but we’ve never actually seen it’s like again.

Fantasy TV Has Had Mixed Results Outside Of Game Of Thrones

A Lot Of “Next Game Of Thrones” Shows Haven’t Quite Worked Out

Lots of TV shows have tried, very directly, to be the next Game of Thrones. From HBO to Netflix and more, the last 5-10 years have been littered with fantasy series that, in part, exist because of Thrones. Just a few notable examples would include:

What’s notable is how many of those have ended, or face increasingly uncertain futures. The Wheel of Time has 15 books, but made it just three seasons. The Rings of Power was a $1 billion bet for Amazon where completing its five-season plan isn’t even a guaranteed thing.

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Shadow & Bone and Carnival Row were expensive gambits that didn’t pay off. The Witcher has changed from a seven-season plan to five seasons, and still faces a challenge to get people to care about the remaining ones after Henry Cavill.

The TV landscape is filled with canceled fantasy TV shows, typically major book adaptations. There are many more stuck in development hell or scrapped altogether – The Kingkiller Chronicles, Mistborn (both of which have been discussed as movies or shows), and more that simply won’t happen, suggesting epic fantasy may have had its moment for now.

Epic or high fantasy books are difficult and expensive to adapt, so greater caution would be understandable. But Game of Thrones’ other spinoff is exciting because it runs counter to so much of what we’ve seen.

Game Of Thrones’ Next Spinoff Won’t Be An Epic Fantasy Series

The Next Series Will Have A Different Tone

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms may have the Game of Thrones franchise tag, but it is not just “the next Game of Thrones.” Based on George R.R. Martin’s The Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas, for those unfamiliar, it tells the story of Dunk, a hedge knight, and a young boy who becomes his squire, Egg. Charting their journeys through Westeros – the first season will take place at a tourney – the series will be much smaller in scope, not to mention budget.

Not only will it have six episodes rather than the 8-10 customary for the franchise (and most fantasy shows), but it’s far lighter in tone and much less expansive in terms of its cast and setting. Compared to Game of Thrones or even House of the Dragon, as well as things like The Rings of Power, The Wheel of Time, Shadow & Bone, and so on, this will be a very contained story, with smaller stakes.

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A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight – Cast, Story, Trailer & Everything We Know About The Spinoff

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a George R. R. Martin story set in the Game of Thrones Universe and it’s getting an HBO adaptation.

It’s not about the Iron Throne, or the future of the realm against some great evil. And perhaps to some, that sounds less interesting, like it isn’t as important, but I think it’s the exact sort of fantasy show needed right now.

A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Will Be A Refreshing Change

It’s What The Franchise – And The Genre – Needs

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms should be a great new entry into the franchise and the genre. It still holds enough appeal for fans of both those things: there is action, there are Targaryens, there’s politics. But whereas House of the Dragon feels like a natural extension of the Game of Thrones franchise, this is more of a zag in another direction, and can prove there’s a lot of variety to this world and to the kinds of fantasy stories that can be told.

Not everything has to be another Game of Thrones, even when it’s in the same franchise. Oddly, I think the best comparison here may be Andor. That’s far weightier and darker than this, so I don’t mean they’re similar shows, but rather they could do similar things for their franchise. Andor proved Star Wars could do something radically different to the norm, breaking away from Jedi and Sith, Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. That’s what this could be for GOT.

At its core, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is about what it means to be a knight, a hero, and a good person. It’s still fundamentally Martin, reckoning with the human condition and moral complications in a medieval world. There’ll still be violence, deaths, and twists.

But it’s very much about a character duo, and the lesser lords and smaller folk who don’t make as much of an impact in the grander, more epic stories. Stripping things back just that little bit, with something that doesn’t need to cost as much and this could, hopefully, be easier to produce.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will, in an ideal world, attract an audience – maybe not as big as Thrones or HOTD, but big enough – and help create a greater variety in the franchise, and fantasy TV as a whole.