A “decade-long” Harry Potter TV series is officially coming to Max

Warner Bros. Discovery is holding a big press conference today, and slinging out huge announcements left and right. So far we’ve learned that HBO Max is being rebranded to just “Max” starting on May 23, and that the streamer has greenlit a Game of Thrones spinoff series called A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, based on George R.R. Martin’s Dunk & Egg novellas. Now we’ve got confirmation about another huge bombshell: Max is making a television series based on the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling.

We’d heard rumblings that the studio was close to reaching a deal on a Harry Potter show, but now it’s official. This is being pegged as a “faithful adaptation” of all seven of Rowling’s novels, which will span a “decade-long series.” That’s quite a commitment; even hugely successful shows like Game of Thrones were rarely renewed for more than a season or two ahead of time, so to see Warner Bros. Discovery go all in on Harry Potter by committing to a decade of it is enough to raise some eyebrows.

Here’s the official description of the series from Warner Bros. Discovery’s press release:

"The stories from each of Rowling’s Harry Potter books will become a decade-long series produced with the same epic craft, love and care this global franchise is known for.  The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail, much loved characters and dramatic locations that Harry Potter fans have loved for over twenty-five years.  Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally."

“We are delighted to give audiences the opportunity to discover Hogwarts in a whole new way,” said Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO, HBO & Max Content. “Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon and it is clear there is such an enduring love and thirst for the Wizarding World. In partnership with Warner Bros. Television and J.K. Rowling, this new Max Original series will dive deep into each of the iconic books that fans have continued to enjoy for all of these years.”

A new Harry Potter show is on the way, but do we even want it?

Of course, any time Harry Potter comes up it eventually leads to uncomfortable questions. Beyond just the idea of whether or not it is reasonable to remake a property whose final film released barely more than a decade ago, there’s also the matter of J.K. Rowling airing her bigotry against trans people in recent years. This doesn’t seem to matter much to Warner Bros, however; Rowling is on board to executive produce the series, along with Neil Blair and Ruth Kenley-Letts. Daniel Heyman is also in talks to executive produce.

“Max’s commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I’m looking forward to being part of this new adaptation which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long form television series,” said Rowling in the press statement.

However you slice it, this series is happening now, with Rowling and Max both entrenched for the long haul. Make of that what you will.

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