In early 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery officially revealed that HBO were working on a TV adaption of Harry Potter.
The highly anticipated Harry Potter TV show from HBO is now in development. Of course, with J.K. Rowling tied to the IP, the news hasn't been well-received by all, and we expect the author to create even more controversy between now and the eventual release.
But this is Harry Potter, one of the biggest brands in the world, so we would be surprised if it isn't still successful, like Hogwarts Legacy was last year. And given the pedigree of HBO, we expect it to be at the very least well-made.
When Can We Expect The Harry Potter TV Show?
The Harry Potter TV show is aiming to release in 2026. That might seem like a world away, but thankfully we can already confirm it will be a long-running show, with seven season confirmed.
There may still be delays that push the release back to 2027, but we haven't heard any rumors about production problems, and so we think 2026 is still entirely realistic.
How Much Of The Books Will The Show Cover?
As mentioned above, the show is going to be seven seasons long, and there are seven Harry Potter novels, so we can safely assume that each season will cover a separate novel. This seems to be exactly what Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO, was suggesting when he said the following during a 2023 press event:
...this new Max Original series will dive deep into each of the iconic books that fans have continued to enjoy for all of these years.
If each year at Hogwarts is going to receive a season's worth of content, then we can expect a retelling far closer to the books than we got with the movies.
Latest Cast News
Update (May 17, 2024): Daniel Radcliffe Will Not Be Involved
On May 17, 2024, Daniel Radcliffe told E! that he does not think he will be involved in the new show at all. As he explained, "I think they very wisely want to [have] a clean break. And I don't know if it would work to have us do anything in it."
And that makes perfect sense, especially since Daniel Radcliffe has made a point of distancing himself from Harry Potter since the J.K. Rowling controversy.
Although casting has yet to be announced, a fresh ensemble is expected to bring new faces to the iconic characters. One of the big questions for fans is whether HBO will select a cast who reflect their physical descriptions in the novels, or whether they will deliberately choose actors who bring a new look to the franchise.
The current focus is on securing a visionary showrunner to helm the adaptation. According to Deadline, there is now a shortlist of just three candidates that HBO will pick from:
- Francesca Gardiner: Succession (2018), Killing Eve (2018) and His Dark Materials (2019)
- Tom Moran: The Devil's Hour (2022), Wild Bill (2019) and Romanesco (2023)
- Kathleen Jordan: Teenage Bounty Hunters (2020), American Princess (2019) and Crowded (2016)
Who would you pick to run the show? Surely Gardiner?
How Involved Is J. K. Rowling?
J.K. Rowling will be an executive producer on the show. It's worth noting that executive producers don't do much of the creative work. Instead, they are often responsible for securing funding and representing the show to networks.