The world of Westeros is expanding faster than a wildfire explosion, and the creative minds behind these Game of Thrones spinoffs are having to make some tough choices about where they belong. For Ira Parker, the showrunner of the newly debuted A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the decision turned out to be surprisingly simple when it came to choosing between continuing with Dunk and Egg or returning to the dragon-filled chaos of House of the Dragon.
The A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms showrunner recently opened up about his deep connection to the characters of Ser Duncan the Tall and his young squire Egg, making it clear that his heart now belongs entirely to this more grounded corner of George R.R. Martin’s universe. The series, which premiered on January 18, 2026, on HBO and Max, has already won over critics and audiences alike with its warmer tone and focus on character relationships rather than political backstabbing and dragon warfare .
From House of the Dragon Writer to Dunk and Egg Showrunner
Before taking the lead on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Ira Parker was already familiar with the pressures of bringing Martin’s world to the screen. He served as a writer and co-executive producer on the first season of House of the Dragon, penning the critically acclaimed fourth episode titled “King of the Narrow Sea” . That episode featured the complex dynamics between Prince Daemon and Princess Rhaenyra as they navigated the dangerous streets of Flea Bottom.
But when the opportunity arose to adapt Martin’s beloved Dunk and Egg novellas, Parker jumped at the chance. The series, officially titled A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, follows the adventures of a wandering hedge knight named Ser Duncan the Tall, played by former rugby player Peter Claffey, and his sharp-witted young squire Egg, portrayed by young actor Dexter Sol Ansell .
The show is set about 72 years after the events of House of the Dragon and roughly 100 years before Game of Thrones, placing it in a fascinating middle period of Westerosi history . The Targaryens still hold the Iron Throne, but their dragons have dwindled, and their grip on power is starting to feel less certain.
Why Parker Chose Dunk and Egg Over Dragons
When asked directly about whether he would ever return to work on House of the Dragon, Parker’s response revealed just how personally invested he has become in the story of Dunk and Egg. In a recent interview, he explained his connection to the characters with refreshing honesty.
“The truth is I pitched HBO on this idea that I want to do four or five seasons with Egg as a kid, then come back ten years later and do another four or five with Egg as a prince, and then ten years after that do Egg as an adult,” Parker said, laying out his ambitious long-term vision for the series .
He continued, “I’ll get to stick with Dunk and Egg across their lifespan, and mine too. That’s the dream. So no, I don’t think I’ll be going back to House of the Dragon. That show is in incredibly capable hands with Ryan [Condal], and I get to focus on these two characters who feel like family to me now.”
This statement confirms that Parker is fully committed to seeing the journey of Dunk and Egg through, potentially over many years and multiple seasons. His vision involves aging the characters in real-time, allowing Claffey and Ansell to grow naturally with their roles .
The Different Tones of Two Westeros Shows
Parker has been clear about why A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms needed to feel completely different from its predecessor. During a panel at New York Comic Con 2025, he explained that the tone was the most crucial element to get right .
“These novellas are so lovely, and sweet, and they have so much hope. But they also have just brutal elements of this world,” Parker said. “The biggest thing about this show finding its place sandwiched between these two giants was just tone, tone, tone.”
He described the new series as having a “very grounded, gritty, earthy, ground-up sort of feel.” Unlike the royal court machinations of House of the Dragon or the epic scope of Game of Thrones, this show follows a hedge knight with no name, no inheritance, and no money who is simply trying to make his way in the world .
Peter Claffey’s Dunk comes from the slums of King’s Landing as an orphan, giving audiences a perspective on Westeros that has never been explored before in live-action. He’s not trying to claim a throne or defeat an army of the dead. He just wants to be a good knight and honor the memory of his late master, Ser Arlan of Pennytree.
The Unlikely Bond Between Lonely Souls
The heart of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms lies in the relationship between Dunk and Egg, two characters who find in each other the family they never had. Parker recently explained that their connection stems from a shared sense of loneliness .
“When they first meet each other, I think these two characters are actually quite lonely,” Parker said during a press conference. “The two of them come together, and I’m not sure that they see that in each other, but there’s something unconscious about the reason that they seek each other out.”
Dunk had just lost Ser Arlan, the closest thing to family he ever knew, while Egg was feeling abandoned and aimless himself. Their bond goes beyond the typical knight-squire arrangement, evolving into something closer to mentor and mentee, father and son, and eventually brothers .
“Really, this whole story is about family, and about the different nature of how families are made,” Parker added. This focus on found family and human connection sets the show apart from the more politically-driven narratives of its predecessors.
Casting Magic That Made the Decision Easy
Finding the right actors to bring Dunk and Egg to life could have been a nightmare casting search, but Parker described the process as surprisingly smooth. The showrunner revealed that Dexter Sol Ansell’s audition tape was the very first one he watched in the first casting package, and he knew immediately that they had found their Egg .
“I remember saying to the casting director, ‘OK, so what do we do? Do we just sign him up? Like, what should we do next?’” Parker recalled with a laugh. Despite going through months of additional auditions and chemistry reads, they kept coming back to Ansell, who had previously played a young Coriolanus Snow in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes .
For Dunk, they needed someone who could embody the physical presence of Ser Duncan the Tall while also conveying the character’s inner decency and uncertainty. They found that in Peter Claffey, a former professional rugby player who was relatively new to acting. Parker noted that Claffey improved exponentially with every audition, showing exactly the kind of growth potential they were hoping for .
Peter Claffey jokingly described his young co-star as “a 25-year-old in a nine-year-old’s body,” highlighting the remarkable maturity Ansell brings to the role of Egg, who is secretly a Targaryen prince hiding his true identity .
What Critics and Audiences Are Saying
The response to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has been overwhelmingly positive since its January 18 debut. The series currently holds an 87% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, matching the rating of House of the Dragon and coming close to the 89% of the original Game of Thrones .
Audiences have also embraced the show, giving the premiere episode an 8.4 rating on IMDb . While this trails slightly behind the 8.9 of Game of Thrones’ pilot and the 8.7 of House of the Dragon’s first episode, it still represents a strong start for a series that deliberately aims for a smaller, more intimate feel.
The weekly release schedule will continue until the season finale on February 22, 2026, with new episodes arriving every Sunday on HBO and Max . For viewers in India, the series is available on JioHotstar starting January 19 .
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What’s Next for Both Series
The future of the Game of Thrones franchise looks incredibly busy over the next few years. HBO has already renewed both ongoing series, with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms set to return for Season 2 in 2027 and House of the Dragon coming back for Season 3 in summer 2026, followed by Season 4 in 2028 .
Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President of HBO Programming, expressed excitement about the pipeline of content. “We are thrilled to be able to deliver new seasons of these two series for the next three years, for the legion of fans of the Game of Thrones universe,” she said in a statement .
For Parker, the immediate focus is on completing work on Season 2 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which is already in production . While there are currently only three published Dunk and Egg novellas to adapt, Martin has hinted at more stories in development, including working titles like The She-Wolves of Winterfell, The Sellsword, The Champion, The Kingsguard, and The Lord Commander .
Whether Parker’s ambitious plan to follow Dunk and Egg across decades of their lives comes to fruition remains to be seen, but for now, he’s exactly where he wants to be. While dragons continue to dance over on House of the Dragon, Parker will be walking the muddy roads of Westeros with a tall knight and a bald boy who have captured his heart.
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