10,148 years before the birth of Paul Atreides, sisters Valya and Tula Harkonnen establish the fabled sect and female order that would become known as the Bene Gesserit to control the future of humankind. Set in Frank Herbert’s DUNE universe, a series by Diane Ademu-John and Alison Schapker, starring 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, Camilla Beeput, Jihae, Tabu, Charithra Chandran, Jessica Barden, Emma Canning, and Yerin Ha.

During the Great Machine Wars, when humanity rose up against the thinking machines, history records that an Atreides led them to victory. Valya Harkonnen’s great-grandfather deserted the fight, and when the war ended and all thinking machine technology was banned, the Harkonnen family was branded as cowards and banished to a desolate world. Those who shared Valya’s bloodline were condemned to live in shame.

The Great Machine War (Butlerian Jihad) is a pivotal event in the Dune universe that serves as a backdrop for the entire saga. The Butlerian Jihad lasted for a century and was characterized by brutal warfare across the galaxy. Billions lost their lives in this struggle as humans fought back against their mechanical overlords. The war culminated in significant battles, including the Battle of Corrin, where humanity finally defeated the thinking machines and overthrew Omnius. The aftermath of this war led to profound changes in societal norms and laws regarding technology. A key outcome was the establishment of a religious commandment in the Orange Catholic Bible, stating: “Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind,” which became a foundational principle for future civilizations within the Dune universe.

But young Valya Harkonnen (Jessica Barden) claims that the history written by the Atreides is woven with lies, and she is determined to change it. Valya and her sister Tula (Emma Canning) join the Sisterhood, a group of women unafraid of their power, where they meets the first Mother Superior Raquella Berto-Anirul (Cathy Tyson), a celebrated war hero. Raquella has trained Sisters to serve as Truthsayers, assigning them to the Great Houses to help distinguish truth from lies. Together, they would form a network of influence throughout the Imperium, which Raquella would use to govern the future.

However, Mother Raquella harbors another secret project: breeding better leaders. She has amassed a vast genetic archive to foster strategic royal unions and cultivate rulers whom the Sisterhood could control. Yet zealots within the Sisterhood view this breeding project as unorthodox. Mother Raquella places her hope in young Valya Harkonnen, believing she shares her vision and will carry out her legacy after her death.

On Wallach IX, the homeworld of the Sisterhood, during Mother Raquella’s final moments, she calls for Valya Harkonnen to warn her about Tiran-Afarel. In her prophetic vision, a colossal sandworm moves menacingly towards the sprawling complex of the Mother School Mother and engulfs the entire structure from underneath the sand. Raquella entrusts Valya with a critical mission: to grow the Sisterhood and safeguard their power by any means necessary, or the Sisterhood will fall.

Tiran-Arafel does not exist in Frank Herbert’s original Dune novels, as this term is first introduced in the series. In the context of the Dune universe, Tiran-Arafel is associated with themes of sacred judgment and impending doom, particularly for the Sisterhood.

Valya is determined to follow Mother Raquella’s vision by placing one of the Sisters on the throne as the first Empress of the Imperium. However, Reverend Mother Dorotea (Camilla Beeput), the granddaughter of Mother Superior Raquella Berto-Anirul, does not share this vision. She firmly believes that humility is the foundation of the Sisterhood’s virtues and plans to dismantle Mother Superior’s work to restore the Sisterhood to its original values.

Despite Valya’s impassioned plea that destroying the breeding index would risk the Sisterhood’s extinction, Dorotea remains resolute. Seeing no other options, Valya employs “the Voice,” a skill she has been carefully developing, to control Dorotea’s body. In a final, desperate act, Valya uses the Voice to compel Dorotea to take her own life.

While the series depicts Valya as the first to use the Voice, this concept is not present in Herbert’s works, making it a significant alteration to the lore.

30 years later, Valya (Emily Watson) has become Mother Superior of the Sisterhood. Sister Avila (Barbara Marten) reports to her about three requests from House Varick, House Khumali, and House Harkonnen for Truthsayers. Valya grants House Varick’s request, places House Khumali on a waitlist, and denies House Harkonnen’s request for the fourth consecutive time.

Emperor’s Truthsayer Reverend Mother Kasha Jinjo (Jihae) experiences a disturbing vision in her nightmare. So terrified that it might come true, she decides to leave Salusa Secundus, the homeworld of House Corrino, and return to Wallach IX to seek Valya’s advice. Valya insists that Kasha must adhere to the plan that has been decades in the making, despite Kasha’s desperate pleas to consider whether the plan itself could be the cause of the Sisterhood’s destruction they have been trying to prevent. Valya dismisses Kasha’s concerns and invites her to stay the night before promptly returning to Salusa Secundus the next day, ensuring the wedding will proceed as planned.

Valya arranges the marriage between Princess Ynez (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina), daughter of Emperor Javicco Corrino (Mark Strong), and Pruwet Richese (Charlie Hodson-Prior), the nine-year-old son of Duke Ferdinand Richese (Brendan Cowell). Her plan is to groom Ynez as a potential Sister who will eventually sit on the throne, thereby safeguarding the prosperity of the Sisterhood.

Ynez and her half-brother Constantine Corrino (Josh Heuston) visit the Division club one last time before she leaves for the Mother School. There, she encounters her new Swordmaster, Keiran Atreides (Chris Mason), for whom she secretly harbors feelings. The two eventually engage in a sexual encounter.

After the wedding ceremony, Desmond Hart (Travis Fimmel), the sole survivor of the attack on Arrakis, encounters Pruwet in a hallway and kills him using pyrokinesis. Simultaneously, on Wallach IX, Kasha suffers an identical, excruciating death, burned from the inside.

DUNE: Prophecy is primarily based on the novel “Sisterhood of Dune,” co-authored by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, which is part of the Great Schools of Dune prequel trilogy. This novel was published in 2012 and explores the early days of the Bene Gesserit sisterhood, set approximately 10,000 years before the events of Frank Herbert’s original Dune series.

Brian Herbert is an American author and the elder son of renowned science fiction writer Frank Herbert. Brian has authored and co-authored over 40 books, many of which are prequels, sequels, and spinoffs of the Dune series. His collaborations with Kevin J. Anderson have expanded the Dune universe significantly, including the Prelude to Dune and Legends of Dune trilogies, as well as sequels to Frank Herbert’s original novels.

The series also draws from Frank Herbert’s original Dune works, particularly focusing on the political and social dynamics that shape the universe in which these characters operate. It introduces several new elements and characters that expand the Dune universe beyond what is found in Frank Herbert’s original novels.

DUNE: Prophecy premiered on 17 November 2024, with new episodes released weekly on Max until 22 December, for a total of six episodes.