The Hogwarts Express is gathering steam, with new details about HBO’s Harry Potter series starting to emerge this week.
During a presentation at Warner Bros Discovery’s headquarters in London on Thursday, HBO chief executive Casey Bloys revealed that the multi-season series – which was first announced in 2023 – is scheduled to start filming in mid-2025 at Warner Bros’ Leavesden Studios in the UK, where the eight-part film saga was also filmed. The presentation also unveiled new details about the casting and duration of the show.
Here’s everything we know so far.
When is it coming?
The series is expected to debut on Max and the HBO and Warner Bros Discovery streaming service in 2026 – almost 30 years since the first book in JK Rowling’s best-selling series was published in 1997, and 15 years after the final film landed on screens.
Who is making it?
It’s a British affair: the showrunner will be Francesca Gardiner, best known for her writing work on seasons three and four of HBO’s Succession. She also served as executive producer on the HBO and BBC co-production His Dark Materials (adapted from Philip Pullman’s fantasy novels) and season two of Killing Eve.
Gardiner, who will also take an executive producer role, was selected by Warner Bros after a months-long competitive selection process in which a number of creatives were invited to pitch ideas for the Harry Potter series.
Fellow Brit Mark Mylod, a director and executive producer on Succession, will serve as a director and executive producer for the series.
Will JK Rowling be involved?
Yes. Warner Bros is producing the series in association with Rowling’s company Brontë Film and TV, and Rowling is one of the series’ executive producers.
Rowling has ownership over key aspects of the Harry Potter IP – namely, the characters – meaning Warner Bros had to make a deal with her in order to green light their series.
And from the get-go, her involvement has been divisive. Rowling’s opinions about trans people in recent years have drawn criticism from the LGBTQI+ community, fans of her books and even some of the stars of the Harry Potter films.
Despite this, Bloys said on Thursday that he’s “totally comfortable” with Rowling’s involvement and “not concerned about consumer response”.
Who will be in the show?
HBO hasn’t confirmed any cast at this point, though various trade publications have begun saying who is in the running. Variety reports that Warner Bros has reached out to Mark Rylance to play Dumbledore. The Hollywood Reporter reported sources confirming that Paapa Essiedu has been offered the role of Severus Snape. There are also rumours that Cillian Murphy is being considered for Voldemort.
The books’ young protagonists, meanwhile, will all be unknowns. In September, Warner Bros put out an open casting call for Harry, Ron and Hermione, seeking actors who will be aged between nine and 11 in April 2025, and who are residents of the UK or Ireland. Actors had to submit two self-tapes: one with a brief introduction and one performing a short story or poem.
Mylod revealed on Thursday that the casting team were currently reviewing 32,000 submissions for the kids’ roles.
“We will watch every one,” he said, adding that the team were currently reviewing between 500 and 1,000 tapes daily, and hoped to “workshop with some of our shortlisted candidates” in January.
What’s the vision for the series?
Dark. Remember, Mylod is the guy who directed not only the psychological warfare of Succession but also episodes of Game of Thrones and horror-infused fine-dining satire The Menu. Gardiner, meanwhile, has reportedly spoken in the past about her dislike of patronising children and sanitising horror.
The show has been billed as a faithful adaptation of Rowling’s series, and the author herself has praised HBO for its commitment to “preserving the integrity” of her books, saying the new adaptation “will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long-form television series”.
How many seasons?
From the get-go, Warner Bros billed this as a “decade-long series” – suggesting that it might not be as clear cut as one season per book.
