A long-gestating prequel, about the women who seek to guide a galaxy, is splashy, somber and insufficiently spicy.

The biggest problem is the problem that plagues seemingly all prequels: the fact that no matter how far back in the past the story might go, imaginations can only stretch so far. Once again there is a conflict between the Harkonnen and the Atreides families (the novelty here being the Harkonnens get more screentime),

Set more than 10,000 years before the events of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune and Dune: Part Two (together an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal 1965 novel), Dune: Prophecy foc

Emily Watson, Olivia Williams and Mark Strong star in a visually grand six-part series, which takes place before the events of Denis Villeneuve’s blockbusters and focuses on a scheming drama surrounding the Bene Gesserit.

This is a spoiler-free review of Dune: Prophecy's first four episodes. The show premieres on HBO and Max on November 17, 2024, with new episodes airing Sundays through December 22.

Prophecy and the second season of Silo, plus discuss the latest news about the coming wave of Game of Thrones spinoffs.