‘Harry Potter' TV Series Due To Hit HBO In 2026: Everything We Know About The Cast, Who's Creating It, What J.K. Rowling Says & More

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29-05-2025

Updated with the latest: The new Harry, Ron and Hermione have received their Hogwarts admission letters.
Dominic McLaughlin will portray The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter himself. Alastair Stout will play Harry's best friend Ronald Weasley, and Arabella Stanton will round out the classic trio of heroes as bookworm Hermione Granger, who matches the courage of the previous two Gryffindors.
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Warner Bros. Discovery's Harry Potter television series is set to begin filming this summer. They have found a costume designer in Holly Waddington, who recently won an Oscar in her craft for Poor Things. Killing Eve scribe Laura Neal has joined the writers room. Deadline exclusively profiled showrunner Francesca Gardiner with insighta from her colleagues and more.
Some big names have been in the conversation to play major characters in the series with Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters), Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You), Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso, Shrinking) and Mark Strong among names are circulating for McGonagall, Snape, Hagrid and Dumbledore. Deadline first reported that John Lithgow was nearing final talks for the role of Albus Dumbledore, the aloof yet powerful headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Lithgow since confirmed the casting to Screen Rant.
More recently, Deadline broke the news that British actor-comedian Nick Frost was nearing a deal to play half-giant Rubeus Hagrid. Cryptically, on March 20 Frost posted to Instagram, 'It's happening, it's actually happening.'
Janet McTeer is in negotiations to portray Professor Minerva McGonagal, the transfiguration teacher and head of Gryffindor house at Hogwarts, while Paapa Essiedu is closing the deal to portray potions professor and Slytherin house head Severus Snape.
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As for the three leads, an open casting call note for the show's Harry, Ron and Hermione stipulates that the actors must be between the ages of 9 and 11 in April 2025. Daniel Radcliffe was cast in the Harry Potter movie franchise when he was 11. His co-stars, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, were 10 and 12, respectively.
WBD may also enlist a key player from the films to bring viewers back to the world of Hogwarts: Framestore, British VFX company.
Four months after Deadline revealed that Francesca Gardiner was one of three finalists to win the prize to reboot the classic kids franchise for the small screen, the Succession consulting producer for Seasons 3 and 4 won the showrunner gig. Gardiner beat Tom Moran and Kathleen Jordan to win the gig. Mark Mylod, who worked with Gardiner on Succession will direct multiple episodes of the series in addition to executive producing.
Chris Columbus, who directed the first two films in the franchsie adapted from J.K. Rowlings best-selling books, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, approves of HBO's television reboot, calling it a 'spectacular idea.'
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At its Max streaming event in April 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed a new era is coming for Harry Potter fans. The company announced a TV series based on all seven books about the boy wizard written by J.K. Rowling. On June 25, it was revealed that the series is moving to HBO in a rethink of WBD's big-budget streaming strategy.
See below for the most current answers to the most important questions about the project.
'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,' said Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO, HBO & Max Content about the project, which he also assured fans would be 'a faithful adaptation.'
Early reports had each season of the series focusing on one book in the Harry Potter book series, which consists of seven novels, but Bloys said the project would run for '10 consecutive years,' which would seem to defy the 1 season, 1 book assertion. For those who say Fantastic Beasts could be leveraged to provide 10 seasons over 10 years, WBD brass said specifically during the announcement that FB will not be a part of the series.
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Whatever the case, Bloys promised that, as the company embarks on its new Harry Potter adventure, 'We do so with the full care and craft of this franchise.'
Not yet, but HBO confirmed that the show will start shooting in the summer of 2025 at Leavesden. The April 2025 casting timeline would seem to confirm this. Showrunner Francesca Gardiner and EP Mark Mylod made a surprise appearance at the Max Showcase in London to reveal the big step in production.
Succession duo Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod have signed up as its writer and director, respectively. Gardiner will serve as showrunner and executive producer, and Mylod will direct multiple episodes in addition to serving as executive producer.
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It had taken a bit, given the initial announcement was in April 2023, but in recent months Warner Bros. invited a select group of creatives in to pitch ideas for what the series could be. They were Martha Hillier, Kathleen Jordan, Tom Moran and Michael Lesslie. Now, the streaming service and Warner Bros. Television narrowed it down to Jordan, Moran and newer addition Francesca Gardiner, sources said.
Deadline broke the news last month that Succession writer Francesca Gardiner was among the finalists. Gardiner was a consulting producer on Seasons 3 and 4 of HBO's Succession. Before working on the Jesse Armstrong creation, she was an exec producer of HBO and BBC fantasy co-production His Dark Materials and was a co-exec producer of AMC's Killing Eve. She has also written on shows including Starz's The Rook and Amazon's The Man In The High Castle.
The writers room now also includes Laura Neal, scribe of Killing Eve.
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Jordan created Netflix series Teenage Bounty Hunters. Jordan is also working with the Orange Is The New Black streamer on The Decameron, which received a series order in 2022.
Tom Moran is a British writer, who created Amazon series The Devil's Hour, which starred Peter Capaldi. He also worked on Amazon sci-fi series The Feed and Rob Lowe cop drama Wild Bill.
It's an interesting mix of Brits and Americans, most of whom have some experience working with streamers and many of whom have shepherded projects in the sci-fi/fantasy space.
We've heard that the group of writers were commissioned by Max to create pitches for a series reflecting their take on the IP. Rowling was understood to be involved in this pitching process.
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Framestore VFX is in talks to recreate the magical world it brought to life in the eight movies adapted from J.K. Rowling's seven books. Warner Bros. Discovery is also speaking to other companies about visual effects, but Framestore is in prime position to clinch a contract, we hear. A deal is not yet done.
Costume designer Holly Waddington, who recently won an Oscar for her work on Emma Stone starrer Poor Things, has been recruited for the series, Deadline reported exclusively.
The series is expected to be on air in 2026 or 2027.
'We've not been shy about our excitement around Harry Potter,' Zaslav told Wall Street analysts on the company's fourth-quarter earnings call. 'I was in London a few weeks ago with Casey [Bloys, CEO of HBO] and Channing [Dungey, chairperson of Warner Bros Television] and we spent some real time with JK and her team,' he enthused. 'Both sides just thrilled to be reigniting this franchise. Our conversations were great.'
Given the results on that earnings call, WBD needs Harry Potter's magic sooner rather than later.
Despite a lack of programming competing in the 76th Primetime Emmys window, Season 3 of Hacks upset Season 2 of The Bear in the Best Comedy category. CEO and Chairman of HBO and Max Content Casey Bloys gave an update about the series after this win.
Bloys suggested that the March date on the casting call for the series' main trio might not mean the same thing as a start of production. He foresees the series arriving in late 2026 or early 2027.
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Ditto J.K. Rowling, whose production company posted a 74% drop in profits in 2022. That rebounded somewhat after the stage version of Harry Potter And The Cursed Child proved to be a post-pandemic crowd pleaser. The author got a $10.5 million paycheck for it in 2023.
The success of the stage show demonstrates that there's still an appetite for Hogwarts-related content. Likewise the massive hit that is Hogwarts Legacy, which became the bestselling video game of 2023, moving 22 million units. (That's fantastic, but for comparison Rowling's seven bestselling Harry Potter books have moved 600M copies worldwide.)
At a Goldman Sachs conference last year, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav made pointed out the need for more Hogwarts magic explicitly. Ignoring the Harry-less Fantastic Beasts films, the CEO insisted the boy wizard presents a huge opportunity, claiming that the IP has been 'underused' of late.
'We haven't done anything with Harry Potter for more than a decade,' he said, before going on to note that when one examines the performance of Warner Bros. over the last 20 years without accounting for it's big three — Potter, Lord of the Rings and DC — the company's performance is 'relatively flat.'
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Zaslav called that type of big-ticket IP 'one of the big differentiators of this company.' And he seems to be counting on it to make a big difference.
'When you put those franchises in, it's the best-performing studio in the world. We need to deploy our best capital, and we need to do it with the best creative people in the world,' he said.
It will, of course, be on Max once the series is ready. The service has three price tiers: Max Ad Light, which goes for $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year and allows two concurrent streams; Max Ad Free will be priced at $15.99 a month, or $149.99 a year, and will also allow two concurrent streams; and Max Ultimate Ad Free which costs $19.99 a month, or $199.99 a year, and allows access to four concurrent streams.
In addition, WBD's other current epic literary adaptation, House of the Dragon, is available not only on the company's streaming service, but also to cable subscribers on HBO. The Potter series will follow suit, according to execs. So if you have HBO via your cable provider, you're all set.
If you're in Canada, WBD has struck a multi-year licensing agreement with Crave for the likes of Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, the DC Universe and HBO content.
John Lithgow is in final talks to play the beloved Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, previously portrayed in the films first by Richard Harris in The Sorcerer's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets films and then by Michael Gambon in the rest of the movie installments.
A whopping 32,000 young actors auditioned for the lead roles of Harry, Hermione and Ron, Gardiner revealed at the end of 2024.
Some big-name actors have been rumored to be in consideration for the roles of various professors at Hogwarts — such as Snape, Professor McGonagall, Hagrid and Dumbledore. No offers have yet been made, but the series may look to age down these adult characters, with Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters), Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You), Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso, Shrinking) and Mark Strong among names circulating in the rumor mill for McGonagall, Snape, Hagrid and Dumbledore, respectively. Again, no deals have been made, but this is heavy speculation.
There will be new actors playing the series' main characters, but no one has been cast yet. Warner Bros. TV has begun the search for actors for the main trio of wizards — Harry, Ron and Hermione — in children from the UK and Ireland. But they may not look like the Harry, Ron and Hermione fans have come to love.
'We are committed to inclusive, diverse casting,' the casting call notes at the bottom in language that has become an industry standard. 'For every role, please submit qualified performers, without regard to ethnicity, sex, disability, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other basis protected by law unless otherwise specifically indicated.'
Warner Bros. is very likely looking to cast young actors, given that they're proceeding through Rowling's books in order. 'The tricky part is the first two books, where the kids are on the younger end, around 11 or 12,' said Dungey of the casting process.
'We have been trying to be very close to the vest,' said Bloys. 'We haven't gone out to agencies. We have our own internal process where we've been thinking about people but we have not wanted to go out into the world. Now that the news is out there…we'll start going out to the business.'
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Responses about a potential return from veteran guest stars in the series range from willing to coy.
Slow Horses star Gary Oldman told IndieWire at the red carpet for the 76th Emmys that he would be open to returning to the series, suggesting a portrayal of Dumbledore. The team behind the reboot has not approached him yet with any ideas. The actor also shared that he felt his original character, Sirius Black, was not present in enough of the films.
At the red carpet premiere for Season 3 of HBO's original series The White Lotus, star Jason Isaacs joked that he hopes to return in the role of Hermione Granger.
As for a return of any of the film franchise's stars — like Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson or Rupert Grint — never say never. It would certainly be a PR boost for the series and, while new actors will be cast in the primary roles, there are always flashforwards or the currently en vogue multiverse plot ploy that could create space for more familiar faces in the series.
But Daniel Radcliffe has said he is fine with sitting on the sidelines.
'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,' Radcliffe 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.'
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Radcliffe echoed these thoughts in an interview with E! News saying he is 'excited to watch as an audience member.'
When asked if he would be in it, he said 'I don't think so, I think they very wisely want to [have] a clean break.'
Another longtime Potter player who likely won't be involved is David Yates, who directed the last four movies, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) and Deathly Hallows Part One and Two (2010 and 2011). In addition, Yates took on the Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts trilogy. He says there has been no conversation about his involvement with the series. And it sounds like he's ok with that.
'Huge affection and a lovely group of people I worked with,' Yates told Deadline. 'But we haven't had a conversation since we finished it.'
'It's been about 'Let's just park it, and be done for a while,'' he said of the Potter franchise.
'Never say never, I would say, but I'm excited about moving on,' he said.
Yes. A deal for J.K. Rowling's involvement in the series had been the biggest hurdle in its path to the screen: The author has creative control over any exploitation of her work. That agreement was finalized in 2023.
Rowling and longtime confederates Neil Blair and Ruth Kenley-Letts are exec producing, so she is expected to be involved in the decision-making on the series. David Heyman, who developed the films, was talks to do the same. Rowling's Brontë Film and TV is producing with Warner Bros. Television. Brontë Film and TV was founded by Rowling and her literary agent, Neil Blair, in 2012.
'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,' said Rowling in a statement.
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Since Warners launched its streaming service, there's always been a goal to exploit Warners' biggest franchise for streaming. Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav, taking the reigns after the merger last year, met with Rowling several times in the UK. He's even spoken up in support of the author, who has been involved in an ongoing controversy over her comments on transgender issues. Asked about the streaming event about those controversies, Bloys demurred.
'No, I don't think this is the forum [to discuss that],' he said. 'That's a very online conversation, very nuanced and complicated and not something we're going to get into.'
'Our priority is what's on the screen,' Bloys continued. 'Obviously, the Harry Potter story is incredibly affirmative and positive and about love and self-acceptance. That's our priority — what's on screen.'
As for how close the author will be to the series, Bloys said, '[Rowling] will be involved. She's an executive producer on the show. Her insights are going to be helpful on that.'
The author's involvement could prove a hurdle to having the principals from the films involved in the series. Relations between Rowling, Radcliffe and Emma Watson can't be great, given the author recently said she was 'bloody angry' over stances taken by trans rights activists, which she sees being in opposition to women's rights.
Rowling claimed that 'thousands are complicit, not just medics, but the celebrity mouthpieces, unquestioning media and cynical corporations.' Asked specifically whether she would forgive Radcliffe and Watson for their unabashed pro-trans rights stance on the issue Rowling replied, 'Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women's hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies.'
Bloys was clear, however, that WBD wasn't entirely dependent on Rowling for the project.
'The TV show is new and we're excited about that. But, remember, we've been in the Potter business for 20 years. This is not a new decision for us, we're very comfortable being in the Potter business.'
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At his most recent appearance speaking on the show, Bloys said 'we are totally comfortable with' working alongside the author of the source material. He pointed out that the company had 'huge success' with last year's Hogwarts video game.
He said he would rather 'do what the creatives want to do' than 'listen to fan conversation.'
'You know we make shows at this scale with House of the Dragon, Game of Thrones,' said Bloys. 'I imagine will be that scale or higher. The shorter answer is whatever it takes to make a quality show.'
Per Deadline reporting, House of the Dragon cost nearly $200 million and was the subject of HBO's biggest marketing campaign ever, valued at over $100M in media spend (that's a combo of ad spot value and hard cash shelled out). So fans can expect a similar outlay for the Potter series 'or higher,' according to HBO/Max boss Bloys.
'We're free to do anything we want,' Zaslav has said, before hedging a bit. 'Some areas we need to do with J.K., other areas we have the full ability to go forward. This is a full deployment on Max of Harry Potter. We can still develop other properties.'
It's unclear where those boundaries lie, but it is clear that Warner Bros. Discovery would like more Potter. Since he took control of the merged company, Zaslav has stressed multiple times his focus on franchises, with mining the Harry Potter IP identified as a top priority.
Deadline understands that there may also be an opportunity for more than one of the above-mentioned writers to be involved and that Max is open to the possibility of developing more than one idea based on Harry Potter.
One such effort, Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking has already been a ratings success, proving yet again there is still an appetite for the IP.
Max and its then-parent company WarnerMedia started exploring a potential Harry Potter TV series a couple of years ago. At the time, Warner Bros. appointed Kids, Young Adult and Classics president Tom Ascheim to manage the Wizarding World and Potter franchises, which include theme parks, tours and the $9.1 billion-grossing theatrical library that spans the Harry Potter and spinoff Fantastic Beasts titles. Under that setup, Ascheim became WarnerMedia's senior rep in its relationship with Rowling and her representatives, and exploratory conversations for a Max series got underway.
After the Discovery acquisition was completed a year ago, that unit was disbanded and Ascheim exited the company. However, the importance of the Harry Potter IP has only grown post-merger.
Zaslav spoke about his family's own personal connection to the series.
'My wife and I, we read (the Harry Potter books) to each of our three kids,' said Zaslav, going off script at the Max announcement. 'It's really moving, for ten consecutive years, people will see Harry Potter on HBO; I mean it's really something.'
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