A new rumored Harry Potter filming location has fans excited that some important scenes from the Harry Potter books will be in the first season of the new TV series.
According to a report from Watford Observer, the Harry Potter TV series is going to be filming on July 23-25 at John F Kennedy Catholic School. The report mentions rumors that the school is the location of Harry Potter's primary school, St. Grogory's Primary School.
That's the school Harry attended before Hogwarts. While we don't have any scenes set there in the books, there are a few important, unexplainable things that happen that make Harry feel like he's different than everyone else. It's also an important location to show just how much of an outcast Harry was before venturing off to Hogwarts.
Remember, there are a few examples of weird things happening in Harry's life. In the books, we get a few short references about those weird things, including Harry growing his hair out magically, accidentally ending up on top of the school after getting chased by Dudley and some bullies, and turning a teacher's hair blue.
At the time, Harry couldn't explain them. As we learn a little bit later, Harry was able to do those things because he's a wizard. It's very similar to the whole incident at the zoo, which was one of the first scenes filmed for the new series.
As you might recall, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone begins in a similar form and fashion as the book with Harry arriving at the Dursleys as a baby. Unfortunately, we don't really get much more about Harry's life between the time he arrived and his 11th birthday when he received his Hogwarts letters.
Well, this scene is proof that Harry's early life before Hogwarts is probably going to be a much more important part of the TV series than it was in the movies.
Ultimately, I think this is an awesome scene to include in the Harry Potter series. My fear when I heard about this project at all was that it was going to look, feel, and be a shot-for-shot remake of the movies with a longer runtime. I don't think that's going to be the case now.
I still have some qualms, overall, with the Harry Potter TV series, but this makes me feel slightly better about the story. No one wants to watch the movies in TV form. There needs to be something more added to this story. Exploring Harry's backstory a little bit more, showing just who he was before going to Hogwarts, and how those experiences affected him, is a good place to start. Beyond the magic of it all, Francesca Gardiner and her team have to nail the more emotional elements of this story. And, this scene is a great example of bringing Harry's story to life in a way that we haven't seen before.
Stay tuned for more news about the Harry Potter series! As of right now, it looks like the series will arrive on HBO Max in 2027.