Harry Potter is an upcoming fantasy television series developed for HBO, based on the series of eponymous fantasy books by British author J. K. Rowling. Produced by HBO, Warner Bros. Television, Brontë Film & TV, and Heyday Films, it stars Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, with Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley and Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger. The principal cast also includes John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid.
Development on a Harry 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 by showrunner Francesca Gardiner and director Mark 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 at Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire, England.
The first season, titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and consisting of eight episodes, is scheduled to premiere on HBO in the United States and globally on HBO Max on 25 December 2026.
In the first season, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger experience life at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, forging strong bonds of friendship as they face the growing danger posed by Lord Voldemort's return.
Harry Potter is a co-production by HBO, Warner Bros. Television, Brontë Film and TV, and Heyday Films. Showrunner Francesca Gardiner and director Mark Mylod serve as executive producers alongside J. K. Rowling, Neil Blair, Ruth Kenley-Letts, and David Heyman. According to Warner Bros. Discovery global streaming chief JB Perrette, the series is HBO's biggest production to date.
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by Rowling from 1997 to 2007. 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 influence on popular culture; the books have been translated into more than eighty languages, and the film series is the fourth highest-grossing film franchise of all time, with the eight films released collectively grossing over $7.7 billion worldwide.
In January 2021, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that a Harry Potter television series was in early development and that HBO Max executives were looking for potential writers. HBO Max and Warner Bros. denied the report, saying there was no Harry Potter series in development at the studio or on the streaming platform. By May 2022, reports circulated about a meeting between Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav and Rowling regarding future HBO Max projects set within the Wizarding World franchise.
In December 2022, it was reported that Warner Bros. Television CEO Channing Dungey shared plans to expand the Wizarding World franchise. 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 service Max, the successor to HBO Max. The series would span a decade, and each season would be "faithful" to the book series. A search for a showrunner 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). After Rowling was confirmed to be an executive producer on the series, this caused backlash due to the controversy she previously attracted over her views on transgender issues, but HBO and HBO Max chairman and CEO Casey Bloys reaffirmed her involvement. Neil Blair and Ruth Kenley-Letts were set as executive producers on the series by April 2023.
Deadline Hollywood stated that by February 2024, there was a shortlist of three candidates to be the series' creative leader, including Succession writer Francesca Gardiner. 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. As part of a strategy shift for content, Harry Potter was moved from Max streaming to HBO network release in June 2024. The series is planned to be produced for ten consecutive years, according to comments Bloys and Zaslav made in 2023 and 2025.
Andy Greenwald, Bijan Sheibani, Josephine Gardiner, Laura Neal, Martha Hillier, Ripley Parker, Sam Holcroft, and Ted Cohen serve as writers on the series, alongside Francesca Gardiner. 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. By November 2025, writing for the second season had already begun.
Led by casting directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann, in September 2024, a casting call was released looking for child actors to portray Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, searching for children aged 9âÂÂ11 as of April 2025 who were residents of the UK and Ireland, describing that agents were to submit "qualified performers, without regard to ethnicity, sex, disability, race, sexual orientation, and gender identity". 32,000 actors auditioned for those roles.
From November to December 2024, various actors were being considered for roles in the series. These included Mark Rylance and Mark Strong for Albus Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu for Severus Snape, Sharon Horgan and Rachel Weisz for Minerva McGonagall, and Brett Goldstein for Rubeus Hagrid. By December, a decision on the casting of Harry, Ron, and Hermione was expected to be reached "relatively soon". In February 2025, John Lithgow entered final negotiations to portray Dumbledore, and he announced his casting soon after. In March, Essiedu was nearing a deal to portray Snape, while Janet McTeer and Nick Frost entered negotiations to play McGonagall and Hagrid. In April 2025, Lithgow, McTeer, Essiedu, and Frost were confirmed to star in the series, with Luke Thallon and Paul Whitehouse joining the cast in recurring roles as Quirinus Quirrell and Argus Filch. Essiedu's casting drew criticism from some fans due to Snape being described in the books as white; in March 2026, Essiedu revealed that he had received death threats and racist abuse on social media because of the casting.
In May 2025, Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout, and Arabella Stanton were cast as Harry, Ron and Hermione. The following month, the additional cast announced were Katherine Parkinson as Molly Weasley, Lox Pratt as Draco Malfoy, Johnny Flynn as Lucius Malfoy, Leo Earley as Seamus Finnigan, Alessia Leoni as Parvati Patil, Sienna Moosah as Lavender Brown, Bel Powley as Petunia Dursley, Daniel Rigby as Vernon Dursley, and Bertie Carvel as Cornelius Fudge. In July, Rory Wilmot and Amos Kitson were cast in the roles of Neville Longbottom and Dudley Dursley, respectively, while Louise Brealey joined as Madam Hooch, and Anton Lesser was cast as Garrick Ollivander.
In August, Gracie Cochrane, Tristan Harland, Gabriel Harland, and Ruari Spooner were revealed to have been cast as Ginny Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, and Percy Weasley, respectively. In September, Warwick Davis was announced to reprise his role of Filius Flitwick, which he previously portrayed in the film series. Additionally, Leigh Gill, Elijah Oshin, Finn Stephens, William Nash, Sirine Saba, Richard Durden, and BrÃÂd Brennan were cast as Griphook, Dean Thomas, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Pomona Sprout, Cuthbert Binns and Poppy Pomfrey, respectively. In October, Lambert Wilson joined the cast as Nicolas Flamel and Marthe Keller as Perenelle Flamel. In March 2026, casting announcements for many Hogwarts students were announced.
Holly Waddington serves as the costume designer, while Mara LePere-Schloop serves as the production designer.
Principal photography began on 14 July 2025, under the working title Dark Train, at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in Watford, Hertfordshire, where the original eight Harry Potter films were also filmed, with Mylod directing and Adriano Goldman as cinematographer. A temporary school for the child actors was built at the studio, designed to be used by up to 600 pupils. In May 2025, sets for the series had reportedly already begun to be built. That same month, the film crew spent over a week at the ÃÂle de Sein in Brittany, filming around the Tévennec Lighthouse. On 14 July 2025, the first photo from production was released, showing McLaughlin dressed in character. On 17 July, filming was spotted taking place at the London Zoo, with McLaughlin, Powley, Rigby, Kitson, and Mickey McAnulty dressed in character.
On 18 August, filming took place at Borough High Street, in Southwark, London, with McLaughlin and Frost present. On 24 and 25 August, filming occurred at King's Cross station with the actors playing the Weasley family. In mid-September, filming took place in Hoddesdon with Daniel Rigby present, and at Wardown Park in Luton with actors believed to be portraying Lily Potter and James Potter. The following week, Deadline confirmed a report that William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales, along with their children Prince George of Wales, Princess Charlotte of Wales, and Prince Louis of Wales had visited the Hogsmeade Station set built at Windsor Great Park. In early October, scenes were shot in Cornwall, including Cadgwith, Carnglaze Caverns and Kynance Cove. On 21 October, filming took place on a rooftop in Skipton. By November, production took place in Ashridge with numerous cast members, which is also where the Quidditch World Cup scenes from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) were filmed.
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. In November 2025, Bloys reaffirmed his intention to film these seasons back-to-back.
Alexis Wajsbrot serves as the visual effects supervisor.
Hans Zimmer and his music company, Bleeding Fingers Music, had been revealed to compose the score by January 2026.
The teaser trailer was released on 25 March 2026, and became the most-viewed trailer in history for HBO and HBO Max with 277 million views in the first 48 hours.
The series will premiere on HBO in the United States and globally on HBO Max on 25 December 2026. It was previously scheduled to premiere in early 2027 on HBO Max. The first season consists of eight episodes and is titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, after the title of the first novel.