Everything we know so far about the Harry Potter TV series

There's a new Harry Potter TV series based on J.K. Rowling's bestselling book series on the way!

After seven books and eight Harry Potter movies spanning more than two decades, Harry Potter's story is getting retold more than 20 years after Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This time, it's headed to the small screen.

Warner Bros. Discovery announced the Harry Potter TV series officially in the spring of 2023. At that time, the series was coming to MAX, the new streaming service. Since then, there's been a lot of big changes.

We've heard a lot of updates about the Harry Potter TV series. Still, more than a year after it was announced, the Harry Potter TV series is a long way off! We shared everything fans need to know about the new series.

The Harry Potter TV series will tell Harry Potter's story again

If you were interested in a new story set in the Wizarding World, you'll be disappointed to learn that the new Harry Potter TV series will be an adaptation of Rowling's seven-book series. In other words, we're getting the same story from the Harry Potter books and the movies in the form of a TV series.

When announced, Casey Bloys revealed that the series will be a "faithful adaptation," according to a report from NPR. Again, that means that we're basically going to get a more in-depth version of the Harry Potter movies in TV form.

So, conventional wisdom suggests that the series will start around the time Harry was left orphaned after Lord Voldemort killed Lily and James Potter and when Harry was sent to live with the Dursleys. It should follow Harry during his first six years at Hogwarts and through his efforts to stop the Dark Lord from winning the Second Wizarding War.

In the summer of 2024, HBO announced Francesca Gardiner is the new showrunner and executive producer of the Harry Potter series, according to a report from Variety. In the past, Gardiner has worked on shows like Succession, Killing Eve, His Dark Materials, The Rook, The Man in the High Castle, and more. In addition, Mark Mylod will be an executive producer on the series. Mylod will also be directing, but it's unclear how many episodes.

Where can you watch the Harry Potter TV series?

When the Harry Potter TV series premieres, you will be able to watch the new Harry Potter TV series on HBO and MAX. For a time, it looked like the series was going to be a MAX original, but that changed in the summer of 2024.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. Discovery shifted strategies to move some of the bigger MAX original productions under the HBO umbrella, which is ultimately a good thing. It gives people more opportunity to watch the series.

So, when it comes out, you'll be able to watch on HBO and MAX, assuming the TV and streaming landscape hasn't changed too much by then.

When will the Harry Potter series premiere?

We've known for a while that HBO was eyeing a 2026 premiere for the Harry Potter TV series, but it's now looking like it might be a little bit longer.

According to a report from Deadline, Bloys revealed in an interview that the Harry Potter TV series would premiere in late 2026 or early 2027.

"Late ’26-’27. Writers are just getting started so it’s too soon to talk about airdate."

You could watch the Harry Potter movies like 1,000 times before late 2026 if you really wanted to!

How many seasons will the Harry Potter TV series last?

It's a bit confusing, but it sounds like the latest plan is for the Harry Potter TV series to run for "10 consecutive years." That's what Bloys said about how long the series would run, according to Deadline.

This is, in my opinion, ultimately a good thing. I was worried that we'd basically see the Harry Potter TV series make the same mistake as the Harry Potter movies and try to limit each book to one season. Overall, it makes more sense to allow the natural breaks in Harry Potter's story to guide the TV series instead of focusing on one book every season. There are so many more important moments in this series that the movies left out from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

But, I do think there are going to be some pacing issues with the Harry Potter TV series. The movies did a good job trimming the right parts of the story, so it's just a matter of making all of that extra time to play with work for the audience. We'll see how it goes!

Harry Potter TV series is casting now

So far, no one has been officially cast in the Harry Potter TV series. One would assume that there are thoughts and conversations about who is in consideration to start in the series. We're expecting an A-list-ish cast in the

In the fall of 2024, an open casting call was announced to cast the roles of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley. The TV series is looking for actors who will be 9 to 11 years old in the spring of 2025, which is possibly when the series is going to start filming, although Bloys recently downplayed that production start date in a recent Deadline interview.

We've also heard that none of the former Harry Potter actors have been contacted yet about a role in the TV series. Bonnie Wright, who starred as Ginny Weasley, recently told People that she wouldn't rule out returning to the series. Gary Oldman, who starred as Sirius Black, said that he wouldn't be back as Sirius, of course, but mentioned the possibility of playing Albus Dumbledore.

Things are happening behind the scenes! We can't wait to find out what's next for the Harry Potter TV series. As we learn more updates, our team at Wizards and What Not will share everything we learn right here!