Harry Potter (TV series)

Harry Potter
Producer	J. K. Rowling Neil Blair Ruth Kenley-Letts David Heyman Francesca Gardiner Mark Mylod
Writer	Francesca Gardiner Josephine Gardiner Laura Neal Ripley Parker
Premiere	Max
Premiere date	2026/2027 (projected) (First series) Originally projected for 2026

"Max's commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and 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."

— J. K. Rowling speaking upon this brand new series

Harry Potter is an upcoming television series in development by streaming service Max. J. K. Rowling is set to executive produce the series, which aims to faithfully adapt each of the seven Harry Potter books into seven series. The show will span the course of a decade, airing one series per book, and feature an entirely new cast.

Cast

Trio

• Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter
• Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger
• Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley

Production

Development

"We spent some real time with J.K. and her team. Both sides are just thrilled to be reigniting this franchise. Our conversations were great, and we couldn't be more excited about what's ahead. We can't wait to share a decade of new stories with fans around the world on Max."

— David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery

A show was officially announced by HBO on 12 April 2023 with it being a faithful adaptation of the books.

On 26 June 2024, Francesca Gardiner was revealed to be writer and executive producer. Mark Mylod was revealed to be executive producer as well as director on a number of episodes. Gardiner's script for the pilot episode and Mylod's overall vision had won over approval of J. K. Rowling.

In an interview by Deadline with Casey Bloys, head of HBO and Max content, he revealed the television series would premiere in late 2026 or early 2027. Writers have commenced with writing, and hiring has started with department heads. Casting has also begun. In November 2024 at a HBO press event, he was asked about the show, amid other questions. He said he was involved in the selection of writer and director, and he probably will have an opinion on casting, and that his social media comments have not deterred anyone from willing to participate in the series. Additionally, he had said Series 1 and Series 2 could be filmed back to back due to the natural aging of the kids, as kids going from 11 to 13 is a big jump in their natural aging while they can get away with 13 to 15. Also, "I think an annual schedule would be tough, but it depends on how much is written ahead of time".

Casting

The Trio in the television series

On 8 September 2024, an open casting call commenced for the roles of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley for the television show. The applicants had to be residents of the United Kingdom and Ireland and at the age of 9–11 by April 2025, which seemed to be the start of production. Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann served as casting directors. They had sent casting information to multiple youth theatre groups in the United Kingdom, as well as a general casting call. Any child who applied with a casting agency got a two-page script instead of an introduction. During the process, the casting team was large and often had less than one minute to know if an applicant had been able to get through the first round. The casting call was emphasised to have had a commitment to "inclusive, diverse, casting". The initial round included a requirement to submit two rounds. Three months after the initial casting call, Bevan's team is thought to have started chemistry reads between many kids. After the casting of the golden trio is finished and cast, the team moves onto the adults and other children. Approximately 32,000 people had auditioned for the main trio run. On 27 May 2025, newcomers Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout were selected to play Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley, respectively.

On 14 April 2025, HBO announced the first member of the cast, confirming rumors about John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid. They are joined by Luke Thallon as Professor Quirrell and Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch. Regarding Lithgow, this marks the first time that the Harry Potter series has hired a non-British or Irish actor to play a main character.

Filming

In December 2024, it was announced that filming of the series would commence in Summer 2025.

On 24 May, it was reported that the series had been filming in France for the past few days, specifically on the Île de Sein near the Tévennec Lighthouse, leading fans to speculate that it could be the filming of the Hut-on-the-Rock scene.

The location for production is Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in Leavesden, United Kingdom.

Behind the scenes

• While Paapa Essiedu is well known for his talent as an actor, the casting of a black man as Severus Snape created a great deal of controversy and sparked widespread debate, since it marks a departure from Snape's description in the books. Some fans see it as a step toward diversity, others have criticised it as corporate pandering or unnecessary race-swapping. Other fans have also pointed out it changes the dynamics of the James/Snape/Lily relationship, as the Marauders would now be routinely bullying a black kid in the 1970s, and that Snape's status as a half-blood would be uncomfortably close to calling him 'half-caste', an offensive word to described mixed-race people.
  • Many fans have expressed a desire for the role of Snape to be played by American actor Adam Driver, who is best known for his portrayal of Kylo Ren in the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
• Jason Isaacs who played Lucius Malfoy in the film series revealed in an interview that his goddaughter Ripley Parker is one of the writers.
• Although there will be an all-new cast, Paul Whitehouse did make a brief appearance in the film series as Sir Cadogan.