It’s barely been a decade since the last Harry Potter film was released, but Harry’s story isn’t over yet: a Potter TV show is in the works. The show – which will re-adapt the entire book series (one through seven) – was first announced in April 2023 by Warner Bros Discovery, before moving to HBO Max earlier this year. During a recent presentation at Warner Bros Discovery’s London headquarters on December 5, an HBO executive confirmed several details about the show, while the rumour mill has churned out several names allegedly in talks to join the cast, including John Lithgow.
The return to the wizarding world will doubtless have long-term fans marking down their calendars until it comes out – here’s what we know so far. The show is coming out on HBO Max in the US – aka the brains behind shows like Succession and House of the Dragon – which was recently rebranded to just Max. “Max’s commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me,” JK Rowling said in a press release announcing the news. “I’m looking forward to being part of this new adaptation which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long-form television series.”.
It is unclear where it will be shown in the UK, though if it follows other HBO shows like House of the Dragon and Succession it will be available on Sky Atlantic. Yes, she’s coming on as executive producer – although her stance on gender issues has drawn a lot of controversy and press attention in recent years and has inevitably been raised ahead of this new show. “Our priority is what’s on the screen,” Casey Bloys, the CEO of HBO, said about it. “Obviously, the Harry Potter story is incredibly affirmative and positive and about love and self-acceptance. That’s our priority, what’s on screen.”.
A slow trickle of names has been announced over the past months. In June 2024, it was announced that Francesca Gardiner (who helped write TV series Succession) had been announced as showrunner – and fellow Succession alumnus Mark Mylod would be serving as director (having cut his teeth with episodes of Game of Thrones and The Last Of Us). “My understanding is that they’re trying to very much start fresh and I’m sure whoever is making them will want to make their own mark on it and probably not want to have to figure out how to get old Harry to cameo in this somewhere,” Daniel Radcliffe recently told ComicBook.com.
“So I’m definitely not seeking it out in any way. But I do wish them, obviously, all the luck in the world and I’m very excited to have that torch passed. But I don’t think it needs me to physically pass it.”. Although HBO hasn’t confirmed a single cast member yet, several trade publications have revealed some of the names allegedly approached for the series. According to Variety, Sir Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies, Wolf Hall) has been approached to play Professor Dumbledore, while The Holly Reporter said that Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You, Black Mirror) has been in talks to play Severus Snape. Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy has been considered for the role of Voldemort.
No news yet on who will play the young wizard, though. HBO did not confirm the rumours though. “We appreciate that such a high-profile series will draw a lot of rumor and speculation,” the network said in a statement. “As we make our way through pre-production, we will only confirm details as we finalize deals.”. Lithgow most recently starred in the Oscar-nominated drama Conclave, which focused on the papal election, he also starred in the LGBTQ family drama Jimpa.
During the recent presentation, HBO chief executive Casey Bloys revealed that the season is scheduled to start filming in mid-2025. Production will take place at Warner Bros’ Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire – the same place the famous films were shot. There’s a while to wait yet, though: the current estimated release date for the Harry Potter series is 2026. Surprisingly, not seven (as per the number of books): Max and Warner Bros confirmed that they were expecting a 10-season arc, which doubtless means that some of the books will be split across multiple years. What that looks like yet we don’t know, but we’ll keep you updated when we find out more.
