4 book adaptations we would rather watch than a new Harry Potter TV series

A Harry Potter TV series is officially in the works for Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service Max. When I heard the news, the first thing I thought was “wow,” followed by, “I’d rather watch something else.” And that’s what I’m presenting here: four book adaptations I’d rather watch than the new Harry Potter TV series.

It’s easy to imagine why WBD is making a Harry Potter TV show. Harry Potter is one of the biggest entertainment properties in the world. The movies made a bunch of money. Max (former HBO Max) needs a hit to generate buzz, bring in subscribers, and show shareholders it’s up to battling the likes of Netflix and Disney+.

I’m a fan of the Harry Potter books. They were a huge part of my childhood literary experience, but there are so many reasons this TV series is wholly unnecessary in 2023. J.K. Rowling, who is an executive producer for the new series, has been criticized for her comments on transgender issues, which many people felt were transphobic and harmful to the transgender community. Rowling’s involvement is problematic.

On top of that, we literally just saw all of these movies. It’s been over 10 years since the final film, but Harry Potter has been in our faces, front and center, for almost that entire time. All eight movies are available to stream at any moment. The streaming services still advertise them to attract new subscribers. I’m not against reboots and remakes, but not this soon. Mainly, I just want to see Max and other streaming services adapt something new, or at least something that was done poorly before.

Also, the Harry Potter movies do a pretty good job of adapting the books. If there’s not a lot of story left over from a two-hour movie, how can they turn that into an entertaining eight-hour TV season? I think a TV series will move painfully slow in comparison to the movies.

For those reasons, I’d much rather Max adapt something else. But what?

I didn’t pick any books or series that are in active development for a network or streamer. This rules out many fan favorites, including Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan, the Legacy of Orïsha trilogy by Tomi Adeyemi (Children of Blood and Bone), Beasts of Prey by Ayana Grey, Alex Stern trilogy by Leigh Bardugo (Ninth House and Hell Bent), and many others.

Let’s get the list started with a series that I think everyone wants to see as TV series: The Kingkiller Chronicle.