HBO is hard at work making a new Harry Potter TV show, based on the books by J.K. Rowling. The Harry Potter brand remains very popular, so this should be a cause for celebration, and for many, it is. But there's a weird undertone to the whole thing, since for years Rowling has been very publicly speaking out against the rights of transgender people. To make a long story short, she's peddled in alarmist stereotypes disproven with a glance at the research or by talking to trans people about their experiences, publicly feuded with cast members from the Harry Potter movies,divided fan communities and even engaged in some light Holocaust denial, all to demonize a tiny, vulnerable minority group. For someone who was once considered a poster child for liberal views, the switch has been dizzying to watch.
Whether we like it or not, Rowling's transphobia is absolutely going to be a talking point during the lead-up to this new Harry Potter show. There have already been some points of tension, like when new cast member Paapa Essiedu (Severus Snape) joined hundreds of other people from the film and television industry in the U.K. in signing an open letter in support of trans rights. In response to the discussion around that, HBO executive Casey Bloys assured everyone that the new show was not "secretly being infused" with Rowling's views. That's good, but it can't be the kind of thing an executive wants to spend their time clarifying.
Much more recently, Shaun of the Dead veteran star Nick Frost — who plays Hagrid in the new TV show — fielded questions about Rowling's transphobia while talking to the British newspaper The Observer. “She’s allowed her opinion and I’m allowed mine, they just don’t align in any way, shape or form,” he said.
Count on more back-and-forth like this as the premiere date for this new show gets closer. In fact, Frost seems to be counting on it. "[M]aybe it shouldn’t blow over?" he said. "We shouldn’t just hope it will go away, because it makes it easier. Maybe we should educate ourselves.”
I envision a scenario where every performer involved in the Harry Potter show has to stake out some position on either side of a line, which could well distract from the show itself. Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies, is more on Rowling's side of things, as he clarified to Variety when talking about his new role in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway.
Felton said he wasn't particularly "attuned" to the conversation about Rowling's bigotry, and doesn't think it impacts his work in the franchise. When asked whether the contentious conversation around Rowling impacts his work in the franchise. “The only thing I always remind myself is that I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world — here I am in New York — and I have not seen anything bring the world together more than ‘Potter,'” Felton said. “And she’s responsible for that, so I’m incredibly grateful.”
For her part, Rowling has assured people that she doesn't have the power to fire any cast member of the show for their views, "and I wouldn’t exercise it if I did." So some of the people involved in the production are trying to put up walls between Rowling's controversies and the show itself, but I don't know if they'll hold. We'll see what happens when the new Harry Potter show airs on HBO and HBO Max late next year or in 2027; no release date has yet been set. As for Nick Frost, you can see him this weekend in the new live-action remake of How To Train Your Dragon.
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h/t Deadline