'Game of Thrones' new series returns to 'home'

Game of Thrones has a strong connection with Northern Ireland as a shooting location. But House of the Dragon, a spin-off of the show, moved to England for filming.

Now, another prequel, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, is relocated to what Richard Williams, head of Northern Ireland Screen, a film production company, calls "the home of Thrones."

"We always knew that we had this ongoing relationship with HBO – our biggest ever customer – and the touchstone of quality global TV drama, so we were absolutely ecstatic to have it back," he tells BBC News.

Richard continues, "This reaffirms, both from an industry perspective, and from an audience and tourism point of view, that we are the home of Thrones."

"If you go to the set on one of these large productions – whatever your notion of the scale is – is always wrong, the thing is always 10 times bigger. It'll be muddy I suspect, but it'll still look fabulous," the head adds.

Similarly, Robert Dowling, a fan of the show and also head of Game of Thrones tours, told BBC News that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms "could only be filmed in Northern Ireland."

It is worth noting that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is shot in different parts of Northern Ireland, including Glenarm Castle in County Antrim, Myra Castle in County Down, Tollymore Forest Park, Hen Mountain in the Mournes, Cave Hill in Belfast, and the Hidden Village of Galboly in the Glens of Antrim, as well as Titanic studios.