Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/HBO Having triumphantly turned back the Game of Thrones clock with House of the Dragon , HBO tries the trick again with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. The new show, premiering Sunday night Jan. 18, is a short-form prequel—running a mere six episodes, each a half-hour long—based on The Hedge Knight , the first of author George R.R. Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas. An odyssey of valor and friendship that’s set 90 years before the original show’s events and which replaces epic swords-and-sorcery majesty with charming low-key character drama infused with tongue-in-cheek comedy, Ian Parker and Martin’s series expands the fantasy franchise by going small and specific, aided by a terrific lead performance from Peter Claffey that grows deeper and more affecting as his hero’s journey progresses. Read more at The Daily Beast.