The #1 Series on HBO’S Max Is a Thrilling Spinoff to Year’s Most Epic Blockbuster
It’s a good time to be a Dune fan. Although Frank Herbert’s source novel is notoriously difficult to adapt, the IP has broken through in a big way over the past several years. Dune pulled in over $400 million at the global box office in 2021. Dune: Part II now sits as the highest-grossing film of 2024, and the HBO Max prequel series Dune: Prophecy is currently the most-streamed show on the platform. Not too shabby.
Although the televised adaptation has been a success, it hasn’t been without its share of struggles. The show has been in development since 2016 and cycled through several showrunners and proposed directors before finally settling into a regime that stuck. Alison Schapker eventually emerged as the series’ permanent showrunner.
Although the show hasn’t been met with the universal acclaim of Denis Villeneuve’s feature films, the general consensus has still been fairly positive. The series currently sits at a Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 73%. The Popcornmeter (audience score) is at 65%.
The critical consensus reads as follows: “Grounded by reliably terrific performances from Emily Watson and Olivia Williams, Dune: Prophecy lacks the spice of Denis Villeneuve’s films but compensates with addictively perilous palace intrigue.”
On Metacritic, the program holds an approval rating of 63/100, which reflects generally factorable reviews. The Metacritic user rating is a 6.1/10.
Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, Travis Fimmel, Jodhi May, and Sarah-Sofie Boussnina topline the HBO series.
The program’s inaugural season bowed on Max and on the HBO linear channel earlier this week, with new episodes rolling out each week until the series finale airs in late December. If you are curious to see what has Max subscribers glued to their television sets, head over there and give the series a shot for yourself.
The setup for this prequel series goes like this:
10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides, following two Harkonnen sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind and establish the fabled sect that will become known as the Bene Gesserit.
That’s all we have for you, for the time being, dear reader. Be sure to stay tuned to the site for more exciting updates about which series within your interest set are making waves on the streaming charts. If you are eager to keep up with my comings and goings, feel free to find me on Threads @FunWithHorror. RIP Twitter.
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