It has been nearly 30 years since J.K. Rowling introduced readers to the Wizarding World with her beloved 1997 fantasy novel Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (also known as The Philosopher’s Stone), and now that the book and its sequels are getting turned into the Harry Potter TV show. Within the next couple of years, the timeless epic of the “Boy Who Lived” will not only be one of the most successful film franchises of all time but also potentially another great HBO series we’ll be talking about for a long time.
Announced during the official rollout of the Max streaming service back in 2023, the upcoming Harry Potter TV show will one day bring the full scope and scale of Rowling’s novels to viewers like never before. Here is everything we know about the Harry Potter TV show right now.
What Is The Harry Potter TV Show’s Premiere Date?
An exact premiere date has not yet been announced, but Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav revealed in a February 2024 earnings call (via Variety) that the show would land on Max at some point in 2026.
Though the series was originally greenlit for Max, Deadline reported in June 2025 that Harry Potter would now be an HBO original series just like other upcoming series The Penguin and Welcome to Derry. How this impacts the rollout of the series has not yet been addressed, but we should know soon.
The Harry Potter TV Show Cast
Over the course of 10 years and eight movies (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was split into two theatrical releases), we all watched as Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and the various other younger members of the Harry Potter cast grew from small children to young adults, becoming massive superstars in the process. But we won’t be seeing those actors in the upcoming TV adaptation, at least not in the roles that made them famous all those years ago.
In September 2024, Variety reported that HBO had an open casting call for the three leads – Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger – of the upcoming series. According to the outlet, the production is looking for children who will be between the ages of 9 and 11 years old in April 2025 and who are residents of the U.K. or Ireland. The search is reportedly inclusive to all races, ethnicities, and gender identities.
What Is The Harry Potter TV Show About
Another point of interest when it comes to the Harry Potter TV series is that the HBO series is planned to be released over the course of a decade, with stories from each of J.K. Rowling’s seven books being adapted. While it hasn’t yet been revealed if this will translate to 10 seasons released in consecutive years or seven seasons (one per book) with some seasons being broken up into parts, the plan of a decade-long series is exciting news and should have fans very optimistic about its future
The Harry Potter Teaser Takes You Back To Hogwarts With Floating Candles And John Williams’ Iconic Score
On the same day that Warner Bros. Discovery announced that the Harry Potter TV show would bring the exciting adventures of “The Boy Who Lived” to a new generation, the company’s various social channels, like its official Twitter account, released a brief teaser trailer welcoming everyone to Hogwarts, be it the first time in years or first time entirely. Check it out below:
As you probably noticed by now, the teaser doesn’t offer any major details about the show, its cast, or how it will adapt the beloved fantasy books into a TV show, but the Great Hall’s floating candles and John Williams’ iconic score are more than enough to hold us over for now.
The Harry Potter TV Show Will Be A ‘Faithful’ Adaptation Of J.K. Rowling’s Book Series
Though the Harry Potter movies did a tremendous job of bringing J.K. Rowling’s books to life on the big screen, there was a lot that was left out in the adaptations, most likely due to the length of the later novels. Well, that hopefully won't be a problem with the Harry Potter series as the TV format allows for a “faithful adaptation” of the source material, as Warner Bros. Discovery has announced. Following the big announcement, Rowling had this to say about the upcoming book-to-screen adaptation:
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.
Max has also announced that the new show will be “authentic to the original books” and will bring the popular property to new audiences around the world, as Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO, HBO & Max Content put it:
We are delighted to give audiences the opportunity to discover Hogwarts in a whole new way. Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon and it is clear there is such an enduring love and thirst for the Wizarding World. In partnership with Warner Bros. Television and J.K. Rowling, 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.
But this doesn’t mean that the eight Harry Potter movies will be yesterday’s news, as Warner Bros. and Max still hold the films “at the core of the franchise.”
Succession’s Francesca Gardiner Will Be The Harry Potter Showrunner
After months of speculation as to who will be writing and running the Harry Potter TV show, THR reported in June 2024 that Succession’s Francesca Gardiner had been announced as the series’ showrunner. Back in February, Deadline reported that Gardiner was one of three finalists for the highly coveted gig, with Tom Moran and Kathleen Jordan being the other candidates. At the time, the announcement was believed to come in June, which ended up being the case.
But Gardiner won’t be alone with the daunting task of turning seven iconic novels into a TV series, as Mark Mylod will also be working on the creative team and directing multiple episodes, though an exact number has not yet been determined. Mylod, who previously directed an episode of Game of Thrones, is also working on the upcoming The Last of Us Season 2.
J.K. Rowling Will Serve As An Executive Producer For The Harry Potter Series
J.K. Rowling won’t be writing the Harry Potter TV series, but the author responsible for the landmark fantasy franchise will be serving as an executive producer, as reported by Deadline. And while we don’t yet know all of Rowling’s responsibilities for the series, the outlet did report that she is expected to be involved with the decision-making process throughout its development and production.
This won’t be the first time Rowling has had a say in an adaptation of her popular book series as she helped Steve Kloves when the screenwriter was working on the scripts for the various Harry Potter movies. She later received producer credits for the final two entries in the series as well as the three Fantastic Beasts movies, which were based on characters she wrote.
The Show Will Have A Budget On The Same Scale As Game Of Thrones
Though Warner Bros. Discovery has yet to come out and explicitly provide an exact figure when it comes to the budget of the Harry Potter TV show, The Hollywood Reporter quoted Casey Bloys as saying the series will be on the same level as those of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, which have gone down as some of the most expensive shows of all time. According to THR, the first season of the GoT spinoff series cost HBO around $125 million after everything was said and done.
When asked about the cost of the upcoming series, Bloys expressed that the streamer was willing to do “whatever it takes to make a quality show.” Obviously, this is something the company is very much invested in seeing through.
Though Not Confirmed, Production Could Kick Off In 2025
Nothing has been confirmed about a start date for the Harry Potter TV show production, but going back to the casting call covered by Variety, it appears as if cameras could start rolling as early as next spring. With the casting information stating that the young actors would need to be between 9 and 11 years old in April 2025, it leads us to believe that production will kick off at some point around then.
There is still a lot we don’t yet know about the Harry Potter TV show, but expect that to change in the coming weeks and months, especially as the creative team is ironed out and casting announcements start rolling in. While we wait for more, check out the 2024 TV schedule so you don’t miss out on all the new and returning shows you can watch with a Max subscription.
