The Success of ‘Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Is Already Influencing HBO’s Other ‘Game of Thrones’ Spinoff Plans

Ever since Game of Thrones came to its controversial end, HBO has had grandiose plans, in scope and scale, for what it wants to get out of telling more stories in Westeros and beyond. But for all that epic dreaming, it turns out that the quiet success of one of its intentionally smaller shows could turn all that on its head.

That show is, of course, the ongoing Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which, despite its oversized hero in the form of Ser Duncan the Tall, has charmed audiences with its lighter, more intimate take on the world of Game of Thrones—a story that is about ordinary people getting by underneath and away from the grand politicking of the realm, rather than huge wars and giant, mythical monsters. It’s not just audiences that are charmed, though. Apparently HBO head Casey Bloys is, too.

“If you think about the novellas, it’s a two-hander. It’s two unlikely friends and heroes wandering Westeros. From its inception, from the starting point, it is not warring families, it is not dragons, it is not giant battles. So the creative made sense first, and then the production follows,” Bloys recently told Deadline of the show’s source material, making the case for a project that is smaller in scope.

But according to Bloys, Knights‘ success doesn’t mean that suddenly every Game of Thrones spinoff to come will be a miniseries that eschews major events in Westeros’ past or future—more that the world of the seven kingdoms and the lands beyond are large enough to be able to host series ideas of varying sizes, so that shows like Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and House of the Dragon are able to coexist. Bloys also made note that the smaller-scale ideas could also allow for shows to have tighter production turnarounds, suggesting a series like Knight could be a yearly show, rather than have sizeable gaps between seasons (Knight‘s second season will air next year, sandwiched between 2026 and 2028 releases for House of the Dragon‘s third and fourth seasons).

“I’m not looking to change the way that we make television at all. Our business has always been a portfolio business, which means you can have shows like The Last of Us or House of the Dragon, and you can also have smaller-scale shows like Somebody Somewhere or The Chair Company, adding things that can come back on an annual basis, like The Pitt,” Bloys continued, “or adding things where the creative lends itself, in Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, I don’t want to say an easier production, but something that allows you, on a smaller scale, to produce and come back on an annual basis.”

With new Game of Thrones material planned at least through 2028, it’ll be interesting to see how that lesson is applied for the myriad other spinoff projects still in the works for the franchise. Although Bloys didn’t comment on further plans, Deadline did note that there are several projects being planned at the moment, including the recently resurrected Thrones sequel focusing on Jon Snow and Arya Stark, the animated project Nine Voyages based on the life of House of the Dragon‘s Corlys Velaryon, the Sea Snake (with animation legend Genndy Tartakovsky attached), the Nymeria-focused mythological prequel 10,000 Ships, and a series based around Aegon Targaryen’s conquest of Westeros.

Time will tell which of those could get the Knight of the Seven Kingdoms treatment—or make it to the screen at all. But at least the future of Game of Thrones on the small screen is looking a bit brighter thanks to Dunk and Egg… much to the pleasure of their creator, we imagine.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.