Harry Potter TV Series Coming To HBO Because The Boy Who Lived Just Won't Die
Bloomberg is reporting that J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series is likely headed for a major reboot at HBO, with a source telling the outlet that Warner Bros. is close to clinching a deal for what would likely be a seven-season television series. The series would be a flagship project for the company, whose president David Zaslav is expected to announce a new streaming strategy next week per the report.
According to Bloomberg's source, the new "Harry Potter" series would retell the story of the bestselling books with each book set to encompass a season. HBO, which has very publicly been on unsteady ground since the Warner Bros. Discovery merger in 2022, is reportedly eager to dive into their back catalog of stories viewers already know and love. "Harry Potter," a series that has spawned a play, theme park, video games, a series of lucrative film adaptations, and an ultimately much less successful spin-off film franchise, certainly fits the bill for many. Per Bloomberg, Zaslav and HBO chief Casey Bloys have "worked to convince Rowling" to produce the new series.
Will anyone think this is a good idea?
While millions of fans are fiercely protective of the "Harry Potter" films that hit theaters between 2001 and 2011, many have since fallen away from the books' fandom after Rowling has spent the past few years becoming the public face of stubborn, vocal transphobia in the UK. For LGBTQIA+ fans and allies, the author's works have been eclipsed by her numerous, damaging statements about trans people, leading to calls for a boycott of the most recent Potter property, the video game "Hogwarts Legacy." Just last week, Collider reported that Rowling's profits through Bronte Film and TV have recently plummeted 74 percent.
Rowling's transphobia has also led to a critical re-examination of the "Harry Potter" books, typically from adults who read them as children. In retrospect, many have pointed out elements of the book that appear rather blatantly racist and antisemitic. While plenty of fans will surely still stand by Rowling and her work in the future, it's hard to imagine a new "Harry Potter" series being received with open arms, even by diehard Potterheads. The eight-film series starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint is inconsistent but widely beloved, and news of the story's reboot seems about as welcome as that of redoing "Lord of the Rings." In a time when all of Hollywood is scrambling to make itself recession-proof by cashing in on existing IP, this feels like an especially obvious cash grab in the making.
Assuming the "Harry Potter" deal goes forward, Bloomberg reports that the series will air on HBO as well as on the Warner Bros. streaming service.