In news that feel as inevitable as anything, a Harry Potter TV show is going to be made for HBO Max.
Yes, the hit children's book series that spawned a box office juggernaut that found its way to brightly-lit stages from London to New York, is the latest property to see a resurgence on WarnerMedia's streaming service. The news comes from Variety, which cites multiple sources that say the series is in "very early development."
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Harry Potter TV show release date
I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the Harry Potter show to appear. Variety's sources only note that the series is in "very early development." That could put the release date very far into the future.
For comparison, HBO formally announced the House of the Dragon series, a Game of Thrones spin-off in October 2019 — and the show is coming out in 2022. That means we're at least 3 years away from the Harry Potter TV show's release date.
This is merely the next stage of the years of rumors of a series taking place in Mr. Potter's universe. Specifically, "conversations have taken place with multiple writers on the potential series," though none were named in the report.
Harry Potter TV show story
It's unclear as to what the Harry Potter TV show would cover, or which characters it would include. If the upcoming video game Hogwarts Legacy is proof of anything, it's that the Potter-verse can be spun out in any direction that benefits the project.
Harry Potter TV show on HBO Max
This is not exactly surprising news. HBO Max has had small hits so far, and since Harry Potter is one of the biggest commercially successful intellectual property that parent company WarnerMedia owns, a series based on the Potter books makes sense to land on HBO Max.
HBO Max is already going to be the home for a John Cena-led series Peacemaker, a spin-off of the James Gunn DC movie The Suicide squad. DC Films president Walter Hamada told The New York Times that HBO Max would be getting many shows spinning out of upcoming DC movies.
The only obstacle in the development of the series is Potter creator J.K. Rowling herself. Her anti-trans tweets, and subsequent long-from online letter, have proven so divisive that the studios behind the upcoming Hogwarts Legacy needed to publicly distance themselves, and declare she wasn't involved with the development.
Were Rowling involved with the writing of this series, the backlash would be swift. Its effectiveness, however, is unclear. Recent Harry Potter films have suffered more because of internal strife — Johnny Depp left the Fantastic Beasts films to handle allegations of abuse from his ex-wife Amber Heard.
