Scary, thoughtful and compelling, Dune: Prophecy is another big IP hit for HBO

Once upon a time, HBO was the network bold enough to go where other networks feared to tread. It kicked off the modern age of the TV antihero with The Sopranos, pushed the sitcom into new territory with Sex and the City, and started a fantasy gold rush with Game of Thrones. Lately, HBO seems more willing to take cues rather than give them, embracing the era of big IP with multiple Game of Thrones prequels, a spinoff of The Batman called The Penguin, an adaptation of the blockbuster video game The Last of Us, and is now giving us a Dune prequel show in the form of Dune: Prophecy.

There's a part of me that misses the days when HBO would start trends rather than follow them, but does this shift really matter so long as they're putting out quality TV? At least so far, not really. The Penguin is one of the best shows of the year, The Last of Us made me cry and the best moments from House of the Dragon rival anything on Game of Thrones.

That trend continues with Dune: Prophecy, which is set some 10,000 years before Frank Herbert's 1965 novel Dune, adapted lately for the screen by director Denis Villeneuve.* The new show is set long before the birth of Paul Atreides. It's only been a few generations since humanity barely survived a war against thinking machines, which have now been outlawed. The race is on to find ways to turn people into superhumans capable of replacing thinking machines. One of the groups running that race is the Bene Gesserit, women who have learned to become human lie detectors thanks to advanced training and a bit of the consciousness-altering spice melange. Bene Gesserit agents occupy places of honor in every major house in the known universe, but do they serve their employers or the Sisterhood?

Dune: Prophecy is every bit the polished HBO take on a Dune show you'd hope it would be: the characters have depth, the story uncoils carefully, the casting is immaculate and the visuals superb. It doesn't have the chaotic zip of The Penguin, which wrapped up the other night; Dune: Prophecy will replace it in HBO's coveted Sunday night timeslot starting next weekend. This show is more ponderous and lore-heavy, but also more sweeping and visually spectacular; I think HBO has another hit on its hands.

Dune: Actors

One thing you can depend on HBO to do is hire great actors and let them perform their faces off. The lead characters in Dune: Prophecy are Valya and Tula Harkonnen, sisters who rose above harsh conditions to rule over the nascent Bene Gesserit order. Valya is played by Emily Watson, who got an Oscar nomination for her first big role in 1996 film Breaking the Waves. Tula is played by Olivia Williams, a workhorse actor who's killed it in other genre projects like Dollhouse and The Nevers. These two know what they're doing, know their characters, and are effortlessly watchable.

And Dune: Prophecy gives them meaty material to work with. We dive into the pasts of both of these characters, finding out where they came from and why they make the moves they do. Valya has been very ambitious (her detractors would say greedy) from an early age, and will stop at nothing to achieve her goals. Tula is outwardly more gentle, but is still willing to bend the rules in the name of love. Are they brave or brutal? Selfish or selfless? Are they manipulative or do they just do what needs to be done? The show doesn't give easy answers to these questions. It's the kind of drama that will start discussions rather than settle them, which is the kind I like.

We also get to know the members of House Corrino, which rules over the Imperium from the planet of Salusa Secundus. Although this is a Dune show, Prophecy spends very little time on the desert planet of Arrakis, which helps prevent it from feeling like fan service. Instead, the show expands our idea of what the Dune universe is like. We get to know the rainy crags of Rossak, where the Bene Gesserit train new sisters. The princess Ynez (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina) and her brother Constantine Corrino (Josh Heuston) go to nightclubs on Salusa Secundus, something we've never really seen in a Dune story before; those sections have a bit of a Blade Runner feel to them.

Dune: Story

I'm happy to say that the plot of Dune: Prophecy is too complex to boil down to a one-sentence elevator pitch. There is a strange force hovering on the horizons of awareness that's keeping the Bene Gesserit sisters up at night. On Salusa Secundus, a mysterious soldier named Desmond Hart (Vikings veteran Travis Fimmel) has ensconced himself within the court of Emperor Javicco Corrino (Mark Strong) and is influencing the emperor to make decisions not everyone agrees with. Within this miasma people like Valya jockey for control, and it feels like every move she makes could upend the board. The levers of powers she and others pull as they try to win friends and influence people are creative and surprising.

HBO graciously allowed us to watch the first four episodes of the show ahead of time. The best compliment I can give the story is that while I find it hard to guess what's going to happen next, I really want to know.

In the meanwhile, it's fun to sit with the show's themes. Although the "thinking machines are outlawed" element has always been part of the Dune universe, Prophecy engages with it more directly than the original book. With all the talk about generative AI improving and threatening to take people's jobs, that feels very timely. There are also some terrific horror elements. In one episode we see what it's like to go through the spice agony, the process by which a Bene Gesserit sister becomes a Reverend Mother, and it is terrifying.

Dune: Drawbacks

Here's the part of the review where I say that Dune: Prophecy isn't a perfect show. The biggest drawback for me was the first 15 or so minutes of the premiere, which is basically a big lore dump that teaches viewers the basis about the Machine Wars, the Bene Gesserit, Valya and Tula, and more. I understand that this is a dense universe and that there's a lot to learn, but I thought it went on too long. Actually, I wonder if some of what we see in this opening was originally meant to appear in later episodes but then got stitched onto the start of the premiere, perhaps after the producers realized we needed more information up front.

I usually hate being the guy who says, "Just watch the show for X episodes and then it gets good," but in this case I do encourage you to power through the first 15 minutes. The show finds its footing quickly after that.

Although there are moments of levity, Dune: Prophecy is a pretty heavy and serious show, which anyone who watched the Dune movies will likely expect. It's not really a drawback, but if you're expecting a laugh a minute this likely isn't the series for you.

The only other problem worth mentioning is that, like a lot of shows in this age of big-budget TV, Dune: Prophecy is too short; it runs only six episodes. To be fair, it also looks like it cost a mint to make, so we know what the producers spent money on rather than more episodes; the sci-fi architecture, costumes and devices all look splendid, with a grand starkness that recalls Villenueve's films. Still, it's disappointing that the journey will come to an end so quickly, especially since a second season will be a long time in coming.

Future seasons are being planned, for the record. That'll depend on how many people tune into this first. I hope the show gets eyeballs on it. It's smart, spooky, heavy and immaculately made.

Dune: Prophecy premieres on HBO and Max on Sunday, November 17 at 9:00 p.m. EST. See you there.

Series Grade: A-

*Dune: Prophecy isn't directly based on any Dune book, but seems to take the most cues from 2012's Sisterhood of Dune, written by Frank Herbert's son Brian alongside Kevin J. Anderson years after Frank's death.

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