'Dune: Prophecy' Is Another Fantasy with a Brit-Heavy Cast

One of the more difficult decisions Telly Visions has to make is what constitutes a British series and what doesn't. This didn't use to be nearly so tricky: it was created by the BBC and ran on PBS. British. It didn't? Probably not British. However, Game of Thrones changed all that. Not that casting people with British accents as science fiction and fantasy characters wasn't already a thing; however, it was not necessarily a thing that was a de facto requirement to have your big-budget science fiction/fantasy series read "prestige" until the Dragons and Dirty White People show did it.

Since then, fantasy series have almost wall-to-wall U.K. actors, from Anton Lesser in Andor to Olivia Colman in Secret Invasion. Both of those series, which stream on Disney+, are not British in the slightest, but you wouldn't know it from reading the cast list.

The new Dune films and the forthcoming TV spinoff Dune: Prophecy were both borderline cases, though Dune's focus on colonialism, especially in the second film, took it over the line to being "British-ish" enough to register. Dune: Prophecy also has that going for it, but it was the realization that the cast did not only feature future dames Emily Watson (Little Women) and Olivia Williams (The Crown) as the leads but also cast multiple Bridgerton alumni that made it enough that it seemed fitting to at least cover who's who in the series.  

Watson and Williams star as the Harkonnen sisters, Valya and Tula, who become the founders of the Dune religious order known as the Bene Gesserit. Jessica Barden (The End of the F***ing World) plays Valya in flashbacks to their time as students, with  Emma Canning (The Irregulars) as Tula. Jodhi May (Gentleman Jack) plays Empress Natalya, whose marriage to Mark Strong (The Imitation Game) as Emperor Corrino unites thousands of worlds under one ruler; Sarah-Sofie Boussnina (1864) plays their daughter, Princess Ynez, Josh Heuston (Thor: Love & Thunder), plays her illegitimate half-brother, Constantine Corrino.

Edward Davis (Sanditon) is Harrow Harkonnen, an up-and-comer also seeking to rise in power. Chris Mason (Broadchurch) is Keiran Atreides, trying to live up to his family's status. Travis Fimmel (Black Snow) is Desmond Hart, a soldier on the rise looking for ways to overcome his lack of last name. Shalom Brune-Franklin (Great Expectations) is Mikaela, a freman slave in the Harkonnen household.

Other members of the growing sect the Harkonnen sisters lead include Aoife Hinds (Normal People) as Sister Emeline, Jade Anouka (His Dark Materials) as Sister Theodosia, Faoileann Cunningham (The Northman) as Sister Jen, Chloe Lea (Scott & Bailey) as trainee Lila, and Tabu (A Suitable Boy) as Sister Francesca. Bridgerton's Charithra Chandran plays Francesca in flashbacks; hilariously, Yerin Ha, who just joined the Bridgerton cast, plays the flashback version of Reverend Mother Kasha, with Jihae (Succession) playing her in the present day. Camilla Beeput (The Suspect) is Reverend Mother Dorotea,

Here's the series' logline:

From the expansive universe of Dune, created by acclaimed author Frank Herbert and 10,000 years before Paul Atreides's ascension, Dune: Prophecy follows two Harkonnen sisters as they combat forces that threaten humankind's future and establish the fabled sect that will become known as the Bene Gesserit.

Dune: Prophecy is inspired by the novel sisterhood of Dune, written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.

Diane Ademu-John co-developed the series; Alison Schapker serves as showrunner, while Anna Foerster directs multiple episodes, including the premiere. All three women executive produce along with Jordan Goldberg, Mark Tobey, John Cameron, Matthew King, Scott Z. Burns & Jon Spaihts; Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt & Kim Herbert for the Frank Herbert estate; and Kevin J. Anderson serving as co-producer. The series is co-produced by HBO and Legendary, who produce the film franchise. 

Dune: Prophecy debuts at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 17, 2024, and will air and stream on HBO and Max on a weekly release schedule through the end of the year.