Earlier this week, we reported on rumors of a potential Harry Potter prequel series coming to WarnerMedia’s upcoming streaming service (seems like every studio has one these days). It’s an intriguing idea…but it’s not happening, at least according to reps for J.R. Rowling. “here are no plans to develop the Harry Potter stories into a TV series,” they told Hypable. “Any reports are purely speculative.”
And honestly, that sounds about right. It was probably too much to hope that we could get the Harry Potter universe represented on the small screen, although the idea is so tantalizing that I understand why people jumped on the rumor. Will we eventually get a Harry Potter TV show? In this age of prestige fantasy television, I find it hard to believe there aren’t executives in boardrooms at least talking about it, but the rights are probably tricky, and perhaps Warner Bros. doesn’t want to distract the series of Fantastic Beasts movies currently in theaters.
Although if that’s the case, it’s the wrong call. WarnerMedia is about to launch a new streaming service, and with so many competitors vying for viewers — from Netflix to Hulu to Disney+ and on and on — it’s going to need to give people a compelling reason to shell out subscription dollars. Harry Potter is one of the few franchises that might have the power to do that. And Warner Bros., if you’re reading, which you’re not, if you do try and make a Harry Potter TV show, adapt the original books rather than making a prequel with a new cast of characters as per the original rumor. THAT would get people interested…or at least it would get me interested.
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I truly do think a Harry Potter show will happen eventually. When exactly? Consult your divination teacher.
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h/t Mental Floss