A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms showrunner Ira Parker has confirmed that the second season of the HBO hit will stick to the same compact episode runtime that defined its Season 1.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Parker was asked whether the team planned to expand the episodes beyond the roughly 35-minute length of Season 1. His answer was clear and immediate:
“Nope, 35. Look, the novellas are all within, you know, 5 or 10 percent of each other’s length. So that’s our plan.”
The decision keeps the series closely aligned with George R.R. Martin’s source material. The Dunk and Egg novellas are relatively short and tightly focused, and Parker has consistently emphasized that the show prioritizes faithful adaptation over stretching stories to fill longer runtimes.
Efficiency of the shorter format
Season 1’s six episodes, averaging about 35 minutes each, stood out in the Game of Thrones universe for their intimate scale and efficient storytelling. Rather than battles or sprawling political intrigue, the series followed hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) and his squire Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) on a more grounded, character-driven journey.
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Parker has long argued that the shorter format allows the show to stay true to the spirit of the books without unnecessary padding. By matching the relative lengths of the novellas, Season 2 (adapting The Sworn Sword) will continue that approach.
