Dune: Prophecy debuted Sunday night on both HBO and Max and while the highly anticipated series took viewers back to the world created by Frank Herbert with his Dune novels, reactions to the first episode of the epic new series have been mixed. Set 10,000 years before the events of Dune, the series serves as a prequel to Denis Villeneuve’s critically acclaimed Dune films and centers on the origins of the powerful Bene Gesserit and while that sounds like an interesting hook, online viewers have had a lot to say. As the series kicked off Sunday night, viewers took to X (formerly Twitter) to share their thoughts about Dune: Prophecy — and the responses have been almost as entertaining as the series.
Generally, viewer response on social media to Dune: Prophecy has not been great. Many online though the series as dense, a little confusing, and overall not what they were expecting but mixed into that general sentiment were some pretty strong responses. One response that came up a few times was that Dune: Prophecy had more in common with a teen drama on The CW than a prestige. HBO series. One viewer noted that “half the show is cool and expensive” while the other is “like a sexy CW teen drama.”
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“Heavy CW vibes from #DuneProphecy,” another wrote.
Not all of the CW comparisons were bad, however. One viewer felt like the series managed to combine the vibes of HBO’s Game of Thrones with The CW’s Reign — and they were down for it.
[RELATED: How Dune: Prophecy Fits Into the Dune Movies Timeline Explained]
But not everyone was down for the Game of Thrones of it all. Many viewers compared the series to both Game of Thrones and its prequel, House of the Dragon — and the comparisons weren’t a compliment. Many felt like it was more derivative and most fans simply weren’t feeling it.
Others were a bit more blunt about the series, saying it simply isn’t very good — and using some (hilariously) pointed memes to assert that opinion.
But for all of the people not feeling Dune: Prophecy thus far, either for the Game of Thrones vibes or the CW tones of things, there were those viewers who found something to enjoy. For many viewers, the costume design along makes the series worth tuning into.
“The costume design is immaculate,” one viewer wrote. They later followed up that they will be tuning into the series regular. And beyond that, Dune: Prophecy just worked for some fans.
“Jesus Christ Dune Prophecy is phenomenal…” one fan wrote.
As for Dune: Prophecy overall, the series follows two Harkonnen sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind and establish the fabled sect that will become known as the Bene Gesserit. The series is inspired by the novel Sisters of Dune, written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. It stars Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, Travis Fimmel, Jodhi May, Mark Strong, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Josh Heuston, Chloe Lea, Jade Anouka, Faoileann Cunningham, Edward Davis, Aoife Hinds, Chris Mason, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Jihae, Tabu, Charithra Chandran, Jessica Barden, Emma Canning, and Yerin Ha.