HBO Max’s 6-Part Medieval Fantasy Reclaims #1 Streaming Spot

1 week ago 15

Published Feb 16, 2026, 10:21 AM EST

In over three years at Collider, senior author Jake has now penned over 2500 articles covering a wide range of TV and film for the resources, lists, utilities, news, and interview teams. Alongside interviewing stars such as Selin Hizli, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Harlan Coben, and Chelsea Peretti, Jake was lucky enough to visit the set of Aardman and Netflix's Wallace and Gromit: A Vengeance Most Fowl in 2024, getting the chance to chat with four-time Academy Award winner Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham. Jake has also worked for other publications, including Agents of Fandom.

Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin has made it particularly clear which of his acclaimed fantasy series' TV spin-offs is his favorite. After recently admitting that a once-close creative partnership had deteriorated between him and House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal, Martin has also gone on record to praise the second spin-off, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

Commending its faith to his original material — the Dunk and Egg stories of which he includes among his "all-time favorite tales" — Martin's high praise of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, plus the show's continued success with fans, has helped keep it among the upper echelons of the streaming charts. Following Episode 4, "Seven," officially earning a near-perfect 9.7/10 score on IMDb, a feat not achieved by House of the Dragon, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms returned this past Sunday with Episode 5, "In the Name of the Mother," as the series finale edges closer. Incredibly, this episode has now topped Episode 4's score on the site, landing a 9.8/10 at the time of writing.

Following this punch-packing penultimate episode, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has returned to the U.S. streaming summit. At the time of writing, the series is the most-watched show on HBO Max, taking the throne from the highly-rated medical drama, The Pitt. The Game of Thrones spin-off also ranks first in the global charts, although by a very fine margin, as The Pitt lands the #1 spot in 27 countries around the world. A logline for the most recent Episode 5 reads:

"Dunk's mettle is put to the test in the brutal trial of seven. Years earlier, Dunk finds himself drawn to the promise of a new future."

Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 5

After publicly criticizing his working relationship with House of the Dragon showrunner Condal, Martin's comments have drawn a response from none other than HBO’s chief content officer, Casey Bloys. Coming to the defence of Condal, Bloys said he "has been an excellent showrunner and a really great partner and collaborator, so we embrace his vision and his creative choices, or we wouldn’t have done it." This isn't the last we are likely to hear of this, so make sure to stay tuned.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is streaming now on HBO Max.