HBO Renews Thrones Spinoff for Season 2 Before Premiere, Putting The Winds of Winter on Ice Again
HBO is doubling down on Westeros—A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has landed a Season 2 renewal before its January 2026 debut, with more Dunk and Egg adventures expected in 2027.
HBO just did the thing: renewed a show before it even airs. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is officially getting a Season 2, with Season 1 set to debut January 18, 2026. Variety says the second season is expected to land in 2027. Great news if you want more Westeros. Less great if you were hoping George R.R. Martin might be clearing his calendar to finish The Winds of Winter.
So, what did HBO lock in?
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is based on Martin's Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas. It's been in development since 2021, with Martin on board as executive producer and co-creator. Ira Parker is the showrunner. Given how Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon still eat ratings for breakfast, HBO doubling down before the premiere is not exactly shocking.
Meanwhile, in book land...
The Winds of Winter is still the Schrödinger's novel of our time. Over the last three years, Martin's public updates haven't signaled much positive movement. As of 2025, his familiar line hasn't changed: he's still working on it.
Last August, the 77-year-old author told The Hollywood Reporter he's also writing another Dunk and Egg novella. He wants to do nine of those in total; three are out so far. Between that and the show, you can connect the dots on why the book has lingered in progress for, yes, 14 years now.
"They're working on the second season."
That was Martin to Collider back in March. So no, it would not be surprising if Season 2 shows up before The Winds of Winter does.
GRRM's schedule is... not empty
Martin has said before that other commitments eat up a lot of his writing time, and that tracks with the current slate. On top of Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, he's got more live-action Westeros ideas percolating, all in very early development:
- Aegon's Conquest
- Ten Thousand Ships
- Nine Voyages
- The Golden Empire
And remember, even after Winds, there’s still A Dream of Spring to finish A Song of Ice and Fire. If the sixth book is this long in the making, you can do the math on the finale.
When to watch
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premieres January 18, 2026 on HBO. Season 2 is expected in 2027. If you're rooting for The Winds of Winter to beat them to the finish line, well... I admire the optimism.