Dune: Prophecy is an American science-fiction drama television series set in the expansive universe of Dune by Frank Herbert. Taking place approximately 10,000 years before the events of the well-known films, it explores the early rise of the Sisterhood that will become the famed Bene Gesserit and the roots of the great houses like Harkonnen and Atreides.
The story opens decades after humanity has defeated the thinking-machines, and the Imperium is still fragile. Two Harkonnen sisters, Valya (portrayed by Emily Watson) and Tula (portrayed by Olivia Williams), are at the heart of a complex struggle for power. Valya, as Mother Superior, seeks to establish the Sisterhood’s influence throughout the galaxy, while Tula navigates her own ambitions within the hotbed of politics, personal loyalty, and legacy. They find themselves entangled with Imperial machinations, rival houses, and the haunting threat of prophecy — the danger that their order might be shaping the future of humanity more than saving it.
Against sweeping backdrops of worlds both icy and desert-scarred, the series juxtaposes mythic scale with intimate character drama. From palace intrigue to desert odysseys, from religious devotion to murderous ambition, the narrative blends spectacle with moral complexity. Visuals are designed to evoke both the grandeur of future history and the fragility of institutions still forming. The tone is serious, epic, and loaded with suspense: here we see not just battles for planets, but the forging of institutions, ideologies and identities.
Its themes include the nature of power, the making of myths, fate versus free will, and the burdens of legacy. As Valya and Tula wrestle with their past and future, the viewer is asked: what is the cost of shaping history? Can one build a sisterhood of superwomen without sacrificing humanity? And can the ambitions of a line be separated from its sins?
By the end of the first season, much has been revealed but more remains hidden: allegiances shift, the foundation of the Bene Gesserit is laid, and many secrets linger. The scale of the universe promises more battles ahead, more betrayals, and more echoes of the future that the original heroes of Dune will inherit.
