Harry Potter TV Series: Cast, Expected Release Date, Story
More cast have been confirmed for the Harry Potter TV series. On May 27, Max (formerly HBO Max, soon to be HBO Max again) revealed the actors who will be playing Harry, Ron and Hermione in the upcoming show.
Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout are set to play Harry, Hermione and Ron in the new series. And fans think that they'll do the roles that were originated by Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint justice.
"I think they all look perfect for the roles," one fan wrote, as another added: "I really like this casting I can really see them as the Golden Trio. I wish them all the luck!"
But who else in the cast? Dust off your wands and broomsticks and read on for everything you need to know about the new Harry Potter TV series, including already confirmed cast who the trio will join on the new series.
Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout have been confirmed to play Harry, Hermione and Ron in the HBO Original Harry Potter series. The trio of actors are relatively new to the acting world, but have had some roles.
Dominic starred in an upcoming Sky movie titled Grow alongside Golda Rosheuvel and Nick Frost, who, incidentally, will play Hagrid in the Harry Potter TV show. The film will be released later in 2025. Meanwhile, Arabella starred as Matilda in the Matilda the Musical on the West End. Alastair has appeared in an advertising campaign and is credited as "son at dinner."
Speaking about the casting, showrunner Francesca Gardiner and director Mark Mylod said in a joint statement: "After an extraordinary search led by casting directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann, we are delighted to announce we have found our Harry, Hermione, and Ron.
"The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen. We would like to thank all the tens of thousands of children who auditioned. It's been a real pleasure to discover the plethora of young talent out there."
In April, the show added Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape and BIFA nominee Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid. All will serve as series regulars.
They'll be joined by newly announced guest/recurring cast, which includes Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell and Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch.
'We are happy to announce the casting of John Lithgow, Janet McTeer, Paapa Essiedu, Nick Frost, Luke Thallon and Paul Whitehouse to play Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Hagrid, Quirrell and Filch,' showrunner and executive producer Francesca Gardiner said.
Director of multiple episodes and executive producer, Mark Mylod, added: 'We're delighted to have such extraordinary talent onboard, and we can't wait to see them bring these beloved characters to new life."
John Lithgow was the first official cast member of the much-anticipated Harry Potter TV series to be revealed in February.
John Lithgow, who you might recognize from The Crown, 3rd Rock From The Sun, Interstellar and more, was confirmed as the fourth actor to take on the legendary role of Dumbledore.
He follows in the footsteps of Michael Gambon, who put on the half-moon spectacles after original actor Richard Harris died following Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, while Jude Law played a young Dumbledore in the Fantastic Beasts spin-off films.
Speaking about taking on the role of the wise wizard, John—who will be the first non-Irish or British actor to take up the role—told Screen Rant: "It came as a total surprise to me."
"I just got the phone call up at the Sundance Film Festival for yet another film, and it was not an easy decision because it's going to define me for the last chapter of my life, I'm afraid," he continued. "But I'm very excited. Some wonderful people are turning their attention back to Harry Potter. That's why it's been such a hard decision. I'll be about 87 years old at the wrap party, but I've said yes.'
In September 2024, TV network HBO confirmed to Variety that they had launched a casting call for youngsters who think they might be in with what it takes to play Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.
The casting call said children must be residents of the UK or Ireland and between the ages of nine and 11 in April 2025 in order to be eligible. They said they are "committed to inclusive, diverse casting," and in order to apply for each role, applicants had to "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."
The casting asked for two self-tapes of the actors auditioning: one of a short poem or story, that isn't Harry Potter related, and one "telling us a bit about yourself, including your date of birth, height and where you live," all in their own accents.
According to Deadline's February 2023 report about the series, Warner Brothers have invited a number of different directors, producers and creators to pitch ideas for the new series – including Succession writer Francesca Gardiner.
Others on the shortlist reportedly include Martha Hillier, Kathleen Jordan, Tom Moran, and Michael Lesslie, with a source commenting, "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."
Then, in June 2024, it was revealed that Francesca Gardiner had landed the role of showrunner, having previously worked on His Dark Materials, and Succession's Mark Mylod has been chosen as the lead director.
'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.
In the announcement on Twitter, HBO Max (or Max, I guess, we can't get used to the change just yet) said the show will be 'a faithful adaptation of the iconic books' meaning there will hopefully be lots more details about the wizarding world.
The series is expected to air in 2026, according to multiple reports, so fans have a while to wait. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav told Wall Street analysts on a company call in February 2024 that 2026 felt likely, explaining, "We've not been shy about our excitement around Harry Potter.
"I was in London a few weeks ago with Casey [Bloys, CEO of HBO] and Channing [Dungey, chairperson of Warner Bros Television]... Both sides just thrilled to be reigniting this franchise. Our conversations were great."
Max have shared that the series is set to be a decade long—yes, really! That's ten years worth of Harry Potter content for us to get stuck into—which debunks the previous theory that each series would be based around one book. There are seven books in the series—so maybe, like in the film series, a couple of them might be split into two separate seasons?
You will be able to watch the series on Max, aka HBO Max.
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Max have confirmed that J.K. Rowling will be an executive producer on the series, despite being heavily criticized for her comments made against transgender people.
'Our priority is what's on the screen,' Casey said about J.K. Rowling's involvement in the show. 'Obviously, the Harry Potter story is incredibly affirmative and positive and about love and self-acceptance. That's our priority, what's on screen.'
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