Dark Knight of the Thrones franchise

A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS IS NOT LIKE OTHER Game of Thrones shows. Or, at least, it's not so much like them that you have to take it seriously. Less than five minutes into the premiere, the HBO series conspicuously adjusts the expectations of anyone who might be confused. Sword in hand, our strapping hero, Ser Duncan the Tall (Irish actor Peter Claffey, lately seen in Bad Sisters), decides to enter a tournament. As he lifts his face heavenward, we hear Thrones' solemn, churning theme song, the same one that now plays at the top of House of the Dragon episodes. Suddenly, the music stops. Cut to a closeup of the knight's face as he audibly defecates. In case we still haven't gotten the message that earthy hilarity awaits, the shot widens to reveal his naked butt and what's coming out of it.

- BY JUDY BERMAN

So, yes, Seven Kingdoms explores a more playful side of Westeros. Based on George R.R. Martin's Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas—which sound like they should chronicle a national coffee chain's breakfast offerings but actually follow Duncan, a.k.a. Dunk, and his pipsqueak squire, Egg—its first season runs just six episodes of around 35 minutes apiece. (It has already been renewed for a second, as part of HBO's promise to give us new Thrones content every year through 2028.) Instead of juggling multiple storylines, a sprawling map, and dozens of characters, most of them nobles warring for control of a continent, it confines its attention to two humble leads in a meadow. The lowered stakes do make for a lighter watch, except toward the end of the season, which is heavy on murk and gore. But the show's anemic plot and spotty attempts at humor also raise questions about the health of the franchise. Is this really the most compelling, or even the most entertaining, story left to mine from Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire canon?

CREATED BY THE AUTHOR and showrunner Ira Parker, a House of the Dragon veteran, Seven Kingdoms takes place a century before the events of the original