Development on aHarry Potter series was revealed to have begun by January 2021, with plans for its production to span a decade as part of a faithful adaptation of the books. Creatively led byshowrunnerFrancesca Gardiner and directorMark Mylod, casting for major roles began in November 2024, and confirmation came by April 2025. A casting call for the main roles of Harry, Ron, and Hermione was issued in September 2024; after considering 32,000 actors, McLaughlin, Stout, and Stanton were announced as cast in May 2025.Principal photography began that July atLeavesden Studios in Hertfordshire, England.
Initially set for anHBO Max release, the series shifted to an HBO release by June 2024.Harry Potter is scheduled to premiere on HBO in the United States in early 2027, with the first season consisting of eight episodes.
Dominic McLaughlin asHarry Potter, an 11-year-old orphan raised by his bitter uncle Vernon and aunt Petunia. When he is accepted toHogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he learns of his own fame as a wizard, having survived his parents' murder at the hands of the dark wizard Lord Voldemort as an infant.[1]
Alastair Stout asRon Weasley, Harry's best friend at Hogwarts and the second youngest member of the Weasley wizarding family.[1]
Arabella Stanton asHermione Granger, aMuggle-born witch fromLondon; she excels in Hogwarts classes, and becomes the trio's brains.[1] Stanton was also cast as the voice of a younger Hermione Granger in the upcomingaudiobook adaptations of the first three books.[2]
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by Rowling from 1997 to 2007.[12][13] From 2001 to 2011, these were adapted into eight eponymous films, with the final book,Deathly Hallows, split into two feature-length films. Both the books and films have had a notable impact on popular culture;[14] the books have been translated into more than eighty languages,[15] and the film series is thefourth highest-grossing film franchise of all time, with the eight films released collectively grossing over $7.7 billion worldwide.[16]
In January 2021,The Hollywood Reporter revealed that aHarry Potter television series was in early development and thatHBO Max executives were looking for potential writers.[17] However, HBO Max andWarner Bros. denied the report, saying there was noHarry Potter series in development at the studio or on the streaming platform.[18][19] By May 2022, reports circulated about the announced meeting betweenWarner Bros. Discovery CEODavid Zaslav and Rowling in their discussion for future HBO Max projects set within theWizarding World franchise.[20][21][22]
In December 2022, it was reported that Warner Bros. Television CEOChanning Dungey shared plans to expand the Wizarding World franchise.[23] In April 2023, at a Warner Bros. investors meeting, it was announced that the series was in development. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO Zaslav revealed plans for the series during a presentation for the new streaming serviceMax, the successor to HBO Max. The series would span a decade, and each season would be "faithful" to the book series.[24] A search for ashowrunner was underway, while David Heyman was in talks to executive produce after serving as a producer of the film series. The first season is expected to cover the entirety of the first book,Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997).[25] After Rowling was confirmed to be an executive producer on the series, this caused backlash due to the controversy she previously attracted overher views on transgender issues, but HBO and HBO Max chairman and CEO Casey Bloys confirmed her involvement.[26] Neil Blair and Ruth Kenley-Letts were set as executive producers on the series by April 2023.[24]
Deadline Hollywood stated that by February 2024, there was a shortlist of three candidates to be the series' creative leader, includingSuccession writer Francesca Gardiner.[27] In June, Gardiner was hired as the showrunner and writer, and Mark Mylod was hired to direct several episodes of the series. Moreover, both of them and Heyman were announced as executive producers.[28] As part of a strategy shift for content,Harry Potter was moved from Max streaming to HBO network release in June 2024.[29] The series is planned to be produced for ten consecutive years, according to comments Bloys and Zaslav made in 2023 and 2025.[30]
Andy Greenwald,Bijan Sheibani, Josephine Gardiner, Laura Neal,Martha Hillier,Ripley Parker,Sam Holcroft, and Ted Cohen serve as writers on the series,[31] alongside Francesca Gardiner.[1] Rowling offered positive feedback on the scripts of the first two episodes on social media in June 2025, adding she had "worked closely" with the writers; however, she was not going to get any writing credits.[32] By November 2025, writing for the second season had already begun.[33]
From November to December 2024, various actors were being considered for roles in the series. These includedMark Rylance andMark Strong forAlbus Dumbledore,[37][38]Paapa Essiedu forSeverus Snape,[39]Sharon Horgan andRachel Weisz forMinerva McGonagall, andBrett Goldstein forRubeus Hagrid.[38] By December, a decision on the casting of Harry, Ron, and Hermione was expected to be reached "relatively soon".[35] In February 2025,John Lithgow entered final negotiations to portray Dumbledore,[40] and he announced his casting soon after.[41] In March, Essiedu was nearing a deal to portray Snape, whileJanet McTeer andNick Frost entered negotiations to play McGonagall and Hagrid.[42][43] In April 2025, Lithgow, McTeer, Essiedu, and Frost were confirmed to star in the series, withLuke Thallon andPaul Whitehouse joining the cast in recurring roles as Quirinus Quirrell and Argus Filch.[3] It has been noted about Essiedu's casting as Snape that "his appearance (…) is not close to book accurate".[44]
In August, Gracie Cochrane, Tristan Harland, Gabriel Harland, and Ruari Spooner were revealed to have been cast asGinny Weasley,Fred Weasley, George Weasley, and Percy Weasley, respectively.[8] In September,Warwick Davis was announced to reprise his role ofFilius Flitwick, which he previously portrayed in the film series. Additionally,Leigh Gill, Elijah Oshin, Finn Stephens, William Nash, Sirine Saba,Richard Durden, andBríd Brennan were cast as Griphook, Dean Thomas, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Pomona Sprout, Cuthbert Binns and Poppy Pomfrey, respectively.[9] In October,Lambert Wilson joined the cast asNicolas Flamel andMarthe Keller asPerenelle Flamel.[11]
Principal photography began on 14 July 2025,[7] under theworking titleDark Train,[48] atWarner Bros. Studios Leavesden in Watford, Hertfordshire, where the original eightHarry Potter films were also filmed,[49] with Mylod directing andAdriano Goldman as cinematographer.[47] A temporary school for the child actors was built at the studio, designed to be used by up to 600 pupils.[50] In May 2025, sets for the series had reportedly already begun to be built.[51] That same month, the film crew spent over a week at theÎle de Sein inBrittany, filming around theTévennec Lighthouse.[52][53] On 14 July 2025, the first photo from production was released, showing McLaughlin dressed in character.[54] On 17 July, filming was spotted taking place at theLondon Zoo, with McLaughlin, Powley, Rigby, Kitson, and Mickey McAnulty dressed in character.[55]
Filming for the first season is expected to last until mid-2026, with production on the second season set to begin a few months thereafter.[8] In November 2025, Bloys reaffirmed his intention to film these seasons back-to-back.[33]
The show will premiere onHBO in the United States and onHBO Max in the United Kingdom, and will debut in early 2027[66][67] with the first season consisting of eight episodes.[68] It was originally slated for release on the streaming serviceMax in the US.[69][29]
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