Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Showrunner Crafted This Season for George R.R. Martin — Praises Him as the Show’s Secret Weapon

Westeros is about to get a little smaller in a good way. HBO is rolling out A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, a Game of Thrones spin-off built from George R.R. Martin's Dunk and Egg novellas, and the people making it are very clearly aiming to keep the author happy. Like, explicitly.

The showrunner is making Season 1 for one person: George

Showrunner Ira Parker talked about the series at New York Comic Con (as picked up by Temple of Geek), and he did not mince words about his approach this season.

'They say when you are writing that you should not try to please everybody, that you should not write for the audience, that you should pick one person and you should write for them. And this season, season 1, I did that for George. The fact that he is happy makes me very happy as well.'

Not something you hear every day from a showrunner, but when the one person is George R.R. Martin, it tracks.

Martin has already watched the whole thing

On his Not a Blog back in January, Martin said he has seen all six episodes of Season 1 — the last two in rough-cut form — and he loved them. He called Dunk and Egg some of his personal favorites, praised the casting for both leads as 'incredible,' and said the rest of the ensemble is strong too. He even name-dropped a couple of fan-pleasing deep cuts to watch for: the Laughing Storm and Tanselle Too-Tall.

Martin also noted that Parker and the team wrapped filming months ago and went straight into post, which is why he has had time to screen everything already.

How involved is Martin this time?

Parker says having Martin around has only helped the show and helped him personally, describing the collaboration as flat-out 'delightful.' Given Martin's recent frustrations with changes being considered on House of the Dragon — he publicly pushed back on the idea of cutting Maelor and warned that some of the tweaks planned for seasons 3 and 4 could have much bigger, messier ripple effects — the fact that he is this positive about A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms stands out.

Quick hits

• Based on George R.R. Martin's Dunk and Egg novellas.
• Season 1 is six episodes; production wrapped months ago and moved into post.
• Martin has seen all six (last two as rough cuts) and loved them.
• Names to know: Dunk, Egg, the Laughing Storm, Tanselle Too-Tall.
• Premieres January 18.

Short version: the showrunner wrote this first run to please the guy who created the world, and that guy is thrilled. That is not a bad place to start.