Emilia Clarke’s Ponies Breaks Records And Barriers

Emilia Clarke, best known for her iconic portrayal of Daenerys Targaryen in HBO’s fantasy juggernaut Game of Thrones, has taken a bold new turn in her career with the release of the Peacock original series Ponies. The eight-part spy thriller, which premiered in its entirety on January 15, 2026, is already making waves—not just for its gripping Cold War narrative, but also for the records it’s shattering and the candid conversations it’s sparked about gender, fame, and the realities of acting.

Set in the shadowy world of 1970s Moscow, Ponies follows two widows—played by Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson—who are unexpectedly thrust into the world of espionage after the deaths of their CIA operative husbands. According to ScreenRant, the series debuted with an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score of 88%, which has since soared to 95%, officially eclipsing the rating of Clarke’s previous career-defining series, Game of Thrones. For fans and critics alike, this marks a significant milestone: Clarke’s new project has outperformed the show that made her a household name.

It’s not just the critics who are buzzing. The premise itself offers a fresh departure from the fantasy landscapes of Westeros. Instead, viewers are dropped into the gritty, paranoid atmosphere of the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. Clarke and Richardson’s characters, once living quiet lives, are suddenly navigating a world of secrets, danger, and shifting allegiances. “I felt like they were giving me a voice, which doesn’t always happen,” Clarke told The New York Times, reflecting on how different the experience was from her days as the exiled princess of the Targaryen dynasty.

But the journey to bring Ponies to life wasn’t without its challenges—some of them quite literal. In a candid interview with The Wrap, Clarke revealed a particularly painful day on set. Filming a series of sex scenes, she found herself kissing three different co-stars over several hours, resulting in a rib injury. “Just keep bringing it—I’m going to sit on this thing, you’re going to bring them in, we’re going to pretend to have sex. I broke a rib that day,” she recounted, adding a touch of humor to the ordeal. Her co-star Richardson confirmed the story, noting, “She really did. She’s such a tiny little sensitive body, meant she broke a rib.”

Despite the discomfort, Clarke approached the situation with characteristic wit. When she visited a doctor to assess her injury, she didn’t shy away from the truth. “Sex! Times three!” she told him, laughing about the unusual cause of her pain. Fortunately, the injury was less severe than it first appeared. “It didn’t like fully break. It just popped out a little bit,” Clarke later clarified, assuring fans that she’s since recovered.

For Richardson, the memory of that day is equally vivid. She described seeing the three actors—fresh from the demanding scene—as they entered her trailer, panting and exhausted. The camaraderie and humor shared between the cast members shine through, offering a glimpse into the supportive environment on set.

Beyond the physical demands, Ponies has provided Clarke with a rare and meaningful professional experience. Speaking to NDTV, she emphasized how special it was to work alongside another woman in a central role, a dynamic that’s still surprisingly uncommon in television. “It’s a big thing. I don’t know about others, but I have never had the good fortune of being able to work with my co-star, not being a boy, be it a boyfriend or husband, or it being a woman, that is not related to my character. Here, we are just two women in this world, and there is an emotional sisterhood. You don’t see a bunch of it on screen, and this was a major part of why I wanted to do it, as I knew it would be joyful,” Clarke explained.

Her reflections on gender dynamics in Hollywood didn’t stop there. Clarke was frank about the persistent inequalities in the industry, particularly around pay. “The gender disparity is not fixed by any means. There is still a wild pay gap difference, but it’s been changing for the better for sure,” she said. She also pointed to the growing acknowledgment of women’s emotional labor, both on screen and off, as a sign of progress. “The thing that we are acknowledging in Western society now is the amount of emotional labour that women do. We are acknowledging women for what they do with that being a significant factor towards driving the change that today we have stay-at-home dads as supposed to the mum who is traditionally meant to stay at home.”

Still, Clarke recognizes that the industry—and society more broadly—has a long way to go. “The situation is definitely changing but there are still many walks of life where that is deeply rooted in a culture. We are very lucky that we are empowered women who are existing in a culture that’s allowing us to speak our truths, but that isn’t the case for everyone,” she added.

The conversation around Clarke’s career inevitably circles back to Game of Thrones, the phenomenon that catapulted her to global fame. She described her rise to stardom as a gradual process, complicated by the fact that her character’s look was so distinct from her real-life appearance. “I experienced it over a steady time period. It started with people sort of recognising me because the way I looked with wig was completely different from how I look in real life. But then getting into the craziness was very different for me than a lot of people because my show was based in fantasy. I don’t want to use this word lightly, but it’s almost sort of gimmicky to a point, like a Halloween costume. So the interactions that I get would be very different to that of someone displaying a straight acting role.”

Yet, the pressures of fame were not always easy to handle. Clarke admitted to experiencing panic attacks during the later seasons of Game of Thrones, saying, “I feel like I am always in a backroom with fame. I love people, I just want to have conversations with people and hang out, have a nice time, but sometimes fame just gets in the way. So I’m just constantly trying to keep that down. But then goes a couple years not doing Game of Thrones, and you are less recognised. So, it’s a fickle thing. Fame will be there and then it will go away. You just got to make sure that that’s not the reason why you are waking up in the morning.”

After the end of Game of Thrones in 2019, Clarke’s first TV outing was the 2023 Marvel Cinematic Universe installment Secret Invasion, which, as ScreenRant notes, was met with disappointment from both fans and critics. Ponies, by contrast, has been a resounding critical success, marking a triumphant return to form for the actress.

For Clarke, Ponies represents more than just another job—it’s a chance to explore new creative territory, champion female-led storytelling, and, maybe, to have a little fun along the way, even if it means risking a rib or two.