Is Remaking Harry Potter Into a TV Series a Good Idea?

The original Harry Potter film series is an iconic bit of cinema.

Starring Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (Ronald Weasley), and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) as the three main characters in the series, the films transported people into a captivating world of whimsy where they could escape the doldrums of everyday life while digesting magic, friendship, and the enchanting nature of the JK Rowling universe.

It’s been over a decade since the eighth and final film of the series was released. Having said that, there are already plans to reportedly re-issue the show as a television series. According to Deadline, a casting call has already begun in order to find the next iterations of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The television series is slated to be broadcast on HBO in 2026, and it will be featured by showrunner Francesca Gardiner and writer Mark Mylod. Both worked together on the hit show Succession. Rowling herself is also said to have involvement in the series.

Allegedly, the project is said to be going on for 10 years. This would include all seven books as singular seasons — though the series could be extrapolated further to include Harry Potter-adjacent content.

The casting for this series will be fascinating. Since the original film series ended, a host of main characters from the movies have passed. This includes Alan Rickman (Severus Snape), Dame Maggie Smith (Minerva McGonagall), Helen McCrory (Narcissa Malfoy), Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid), Richard Griffiths (Vernon Dudley), Richard Harris (Albus Dumbledore), and Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore). There have been rumblings that famed actor Cillian Murphy may be tied to portraying villain Voldemort. Additionally, Gary Oldman — formerly Sirius Black — has reportedly conveyed interest in playing Albus Dumbledore.

While it will be difficult to replicate the magic from the original films, portraying each book as a season of television could further help in showcasing the detail from the written text that couldn’t possibly have been translated into a single movie.