David Zaslav's Harry Potter HBO Series Is Already In The Middle Of A Lawsuit [UPDATE]

[UPDATE] A spokesperson from Warner Bros. Discovery has provided a statement regarding the lawsuit:

"The HBO and Max licensing agreements expire at the end of 2025, and this lawsuit is a baseless attempt by Sky and Comcast to try and gain leverage in its negotiations for our programming beyond that date. We know HBO branded shows are critical to Sky, as evidenced by their desire for over a year to find a way to renew our agreements, and this lawsuit makes it clear that Sky is deeply concerned about the viability of its business were it to lose our award-winning content. WBD will vigorously defend itself from this unfounded lawsuit as we move forward undeterred with plans to launch Max, including the new HBO Harry Potter series, in the UK and other European markets in 2026."

The rest of the article continues as originally published.

Warner Bros. Discovery is gearing up to make a very ambitious, 10-season "Harry Potter" TV show that will fully adapt every book in the series. A lot can go wrong with such an ambitious project. To that end, things are going wrong even before cameras begin to roll. WBD is now facing a lawsuit from the U.K.'s Sky, which is owned by Comcast, over the forthcoming series.

According to Deadline, a 36-page complaint was filed recently in federal court in New York. It relates to the 2019 deal that Warner Bros. inked with Sky. The suit stems from an agreement that the two companies made, with WB obligated to offer to partner with Sky on several shows per year. A portion of the filing reads as follows:

"Warner has repeatedly failed to offer Sky the annually required minimum number of contractually qualifying series for its consideration. Specifically, Warner was obligated to present Sky with at least four shows per year across 2021, 2022, and 2023 but undisputedly fell far short of that mark, in certain years offering barely a single qualifying series while also withholding critical, contractually required information necessary for Sky to evaluate any potential options that it did receive."

So, in short, Warner Bros. has not kept up its end of the deal. This all comes at a time when Warner Bros. is in financial peril, as the company is saddled with debt and its stock price has plummeted. The company also has to try and stay in the streaming wars with Max while protecting the HBO brand at the same time. It's all been tricky. This lawsuit isn't helping matters.

The show is pretty far along in the development process. The "Harry Potter" series recently named Francesca Gardiner ("Succession," "Killing Eve") as showrunner and executive producer, with Mark Mylod ("Succession," "Game of Thrones") on board as an executive producer and director. The casting process is also said to be underway. This lawsuit could throw a wrench into the proceedings. The lawsuit further states:

"Warner has now even brazenly denied Sky its right to partner on Warner's highly valuable decade-long, tentpole television series adapting J.K. Rowling's iconic Harry Potter novels, set to premiere in 2026 or 2027. Instead, Warner has largely disregarded the parties' agreement and sought to keep the Harry Potter content for itself so that Warner can use it as the cornerstone of the launch of its Max streaming service in Europe."

Indeed, Max is gearing up to expand into Europe and other territories. It makes sense to have "Harry Potter" as an exclusive anchor for the service as that happens. It remains to be seen what will come of all this. Sky is seeking unspecified damages. More importantly, they want an order "requiring Defendant Warner to immediately submit the 'Harry Potter' Series for Plaintiff Sky's consideration." In other words, they want in on the show.

Depending on how this shakes out, Sky could (emphasis on could) be brought in as a creative and financial partner on the show. That will only further complicate things. Creator J.K. Rowling is already involved. Given her continued, controversial statements regarding the trans community, that isn't sitting well with many would-be viewers. We'll see how this all shakes out in the coming months, but this is a speed bump that WBD and CEO David Zaslav can ill-afford right now.

The "Harry Potter" TV show does not currently have a release date.