A new spin off series to the hugely popular show, Game of Thrones, which is set in Northern Ireland, is to air tonight.
The new series, which can be watched on Sky Atlantic, is set a century before Game of Thrones, telling the story of Ser Duncan the Tall and his diminutive squire, Egg. The show is titled, ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’.
This is spin off to Game of Thrones, which had brought a boost to tourism in Northern Ireland, when it aired years earlier. It will be filmed in coastal counties like Antrim and Down, with film studies in Belfast also being used.
Places like Tollymore Forest in Co Down, Glenarm Castle in Co Antrim and the Mourne M0untains will all feature.
Speaking ahead of the release of the series, Richard Hogan, who is a former Game of Thrones extra, and tour guide in Northern Ireland, says its attraction is the wide range of different locations which are all within easy reach, from castles to mountains and coastlines.
“We have a vast range of scenery, but it’s all in a very small area”, he said. “So as I say to my American guests there’s nothing I can show you in Northern Ireland that you can’t show me in America, but to do it in America you need to travel to the four corners of the continent”.
“Here we can do it all within one hour of Belfast”.Â
Northern Ireland has seen a healthy TV and film industry develop and it is now hoped that the eyes of an international TV audience on the dramatic scenery can boost tourism once again. Many travelled to Northern Ireland to see where Game of Thrones was filmed.
This new spin off can hopefully newly found interest in the show from its fanbase.
Some of the latest scenes were filmed along the coastal village of Glenarm.
Several local residents have said that the crew and cast had used local facilities and stayed in local accomodation.
However, there have been complaints about the filming’s impact on the daily life of people who live in the village, including some road closures and other restrictions.
Rumours of the Game of Thrones prequel coming to Northern Ireland first arose in 2023.
This happened after Lisa Byrne, a producer of the show from season 3 to 8, had updated a LinkedIn account, listing “work in Northern Ireland” among one of the upcoming projects for the prequel, ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’. Find out more on this from Nova here.