Another WBD-owned franchise is expanding on television. A press release announced the prequel series Dune: Prophecy will return for a second season. The series is set 10,000 years before the birth of Paul Atrides, who Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown, Call Me By Your Name) portrays in the new film franchise.
The prequel series’ includes a stellar cast led by Emily Watson (Breaking the Waves, Small Things Like These), Olivia Williams (Manhattan, The Wheel of Time), Travis Fimmel (Raised by Wolves, Vikings), Jodhi May (Sister My Sister, A World Apart), Mark Strong (The Batman, The King’s Man) and Sarah-Sofie Boussnina (Tides, Comeback). The story illustrates the early days of a coven of women who eventually become known as the powerful Bene Gesserit. Trained in the special craft of truthsense — being able to detect when someone is lying — and other mystical arts, the group of women, led by two Harkonnen sisters, strive to influence the powerful Imperium. The series has been described as possessing the political schemes of Game of Thrones within the universe Frank Herbert (Dune Messiah, Children of Dune) created with his Dune novels. This particular narrative is influenced by Sisterhood of Dune written by Brian Herbert (Hunters of Dune) and Kevin J. Anderson (Sandworms of Dune).
“Dune: Prophecy has captivated audiences around the globe thanks to the visionary leadership of showrunner and executive producer Alison Schapker, who will continue to guide this grand tale of truth and power,” Sarah Aubrey, Head of Max Original Programming, stated in the press release. “We are incredibly grateful to our partners at Legendary and to our extraordinary cast and crew for their service to the Imperium. We’re excited to collaborate with this team again to see what they have in store.”
The series, co-produced by Legendary Television, has received critical acclaim from Entertainment Weekly, The Wrap, and The Wall Street Journal. Coupled with critics’ praise it has built quite a following, with the premiere episode amassing 15 million viewers since its debut on November 17.
“This new season will allow us to continue building out the groundbreaking, epic Dune franchise that has captivated audiences worldwide across its installments,” Legendary President of Television, Jason Clodfelter, said in the release. “We look forward to continuing our incredible partnership with HBO and are thrilled for Alison Schapker, her team, and the cast and crew who have worked so passionately to bring this world-class source material from Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson to life.”
Diane Ademu-John (The Originals, Empire) is an executive producer and co-developer with Schapker (Alias, Almost Human) and Anna Foerster (Lou, White House Down). Foerster directed multiple episodes including the pilot. Other executive producers include Byron Merritt (Dune: Part One, Dune: Part Two), Kim Herbert, and Brian Herbert with the Frank Herbert estate; and Scott Z. Burns (Contagion, The Report), Mark Tobey (Westworld, The Birdcage), John Cameron (Fargo, Severance), Matthew King (Creepy Bits, The Dessert), and Jordan Goldberg (The Prestige, Westworld). Anderson is a co-producer
The season one finale of Dune: Prophecy airs on Sunday, December 22 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.