Harry Potter is a co-production by
HBO,
Warner Bros. Television, Brontë Film and TV, and
Heyday Films.
Showrunner Francesca Gardiner and director
Mark Mylod serve as executive producers alongside
J. K. Rowling,
Neil Blair, Ruth Kenley-Letts, and
David Heyman. According to
Warner Bros. Discovery global streaming chief JB Perrette, the series is HBO's biggest production to date.
Background |alt=J.K. Rowling, a blond, blue-eyed woman, who is the author of the series
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by Rowling from 1997 to 2007. From 2001 to 2011, these were adapted into eight eponymous films, with the final book,
Deathly Hallows, split into two feature-length films. Both the books and films have had a notable influence on popular culture; the books have been translated into more than eighty languages, and the film series is the
fourth highest-grossing film franchise of all time, with the eight films released collectively grossing over $7.7 billion worldwide.
Development In January 2021,
The Hollywood Reporter revealed that a
Harry Potter television series was in early development and that
HBO Max executives were looking for potential writers. HBO Max and
Warner Bros. denied the report, saying there was no
Harry Potter series in development at the studio or on the streaming platform. By May 2022, reports circulated about a meeting between Warner Bros. Discovery CEO
David Zaslav and Rowling regarding future HBO Max projects set within the
Wizarding World franchise. In December 2022, it was reported that Warner Bros. Television CEO
Channing Dungey shared plans to expand the Wizarding World franchise. In April 2023, at a Warner Bros. investors meeting, it was announced that the series was in development. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO Zaslav revealed plans for the series during a presentation for the new streaming service
Max, the successor to HBO Max. The series would span a decade, and each season would be "faithful" to the book series. A search for a
showrunner was underway, while David Heyman was in talks to executive produce after serving as a producer of the film series. The first season is expected to cover the entirety of the first book, ''
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' (1997). After Rowling was confirmed to be an executive producer on the series, this caused backlash due to the controversy she previously attracted over
her views on transgender issues, but HBO and HBO Max chairman and CEO Casey Bloys reaffirmed her involvement. Neil Blair and Ruth Kenley-Letts were set as executive producers on the series by April 2023.
Deadline Hollywood stated that by February 2024, there was a shortlist of three candidates to be the series' creative leader, including
Succession writer Francesca Gardiner. In June, Gardiner was hired as the showrunner and writer, and Mark Mylod was hired to direct several episodes of the series. Moreover, both of them and Heyman were announced as executive producers. As part of a strategy shift for content,
Harry Potter was moved from Max streaming to HBO network release in June 2024. The series is planned to be produced for ten consecutive years, according to comments Bloys and Zaslav made in 2023 and 2025.
Writing Andy Greenwald,
Bijan Sheibani, Josephine Gardiner, Laura Neal,
Martha Hillier,
Ripley Parker,
Sam Holcroft, and Ted Cohen serve as writers on the series, alongside Francesca Gardiner. Rowling offered positive feedback on the scripts of the first two episodes on
social media in June 2025, adding she had "worked closely" with the writers; however, she was not going to get any writing credits. By November 2025, writing for the second season, expected to cover the entirety of the second book,
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998), had already begun.
Casting Led by
casting directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann, in September 2024, a casting call was released looking for child actors to portray
Harry Potter,
Ron Weasley, and
Hermione Granger, searching for children aged 9–11 as of April 2025 who were residents of the UK and Ireland, describing that agents were to submit "qualified performers, without regard to
ethnicity, sex,
disability,
race,
sexual orientation, and
gender identity". 40,000 actors
auditioned for those roles. In-person auditions were held in
Manchester,
Scotland,
Ireland and
Cardiff. By December 2024, a decision on the casting of the main characters was expected to be reached "relatively soon". In May 2025, Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout, and
Arabella Stanton were cast as Harry, Ron and Hermione. McLaughlin auditioned in
Glasgow with a poem he had written about a weekend in his life, convicing casting directors with his "quiet confidence." Bevan commented: "He's skeptical of the adult world. He's got a vulnerability and a melancholy and a solitary quality to him." Stout auditioned in Manchester, with the directors finding him "charming and funny from the word 'go." Stanton auditioned in London, performing
William Ernest Henley's poem
Invictus (1875) and a more humorous scene. From November to December 2024, various actors were being considered for roles in the series. These included
Mark Rylance and
Mark Strong for
Albus Dumbledore,
Paapa Essiedu for
Severus Snape,
Sharon Horgan and
Rachel Weisz for
Minerva McGonagall, and
Brett Goldstein for
Rubeus Hagrid. In February 2025,
John Lithgow entered final negotiations to portray Dumbledore, and he announced his casting soon after. In March, Essiedu was nearing a deal to portray Snape, while
Janet McTeer and
Nick Frost entered negotiations to play McGonagall and Hagrid. In April 2025, Lithgow, McTeer, Essiedu, and Frost were confirmed to star in the series, with
Luke Thallon and
Paul Whitehouse joining the cast in recurring roles as Quirinus Quirrell and Argus Filch. Essiedu's casting drew criticism from some fans due to Snape being described in the books as white; in March 2026, Essiedu revealed that he had received death threats and racist abuse on social media because of the casting. The following month, the additional cast announced were
Katherine Parkinson as Molly Weasley,
Lox Pratt as
Draco Malfoy,
Johnny Flynn as Lucius Malfoy, Leo Earley as Seamus Finnigan, Alessia Leoni as Parvati Patil, Sienna Moosah as Lavender Brown,
Bel Powley as Petunia Dursley,
Daniel Rigby as Vernon Dursley, and
Bertie Carvel as Cornelius Fudge. In July, Rory Wilmot and Amos Kitson were cast in the roles of
Neville Longbottom and
Dudley Dursley, respectively, while
Louise Brealey joined as Madam Hooch, and
Anton Lesser was cast as Garrick Ollivander. In August, Gracie Cochrane, Tristan Harland, Gabriel Harland, and Ruari Spooner were revealed to have been cast as
Ginny Weasley,
Fred Weasley, George Weasley, and Percy Weasley, respectively. In September,
Warwick Davis was announced to reprise his role of
Filius Flitwick, which he previously portrayed in the film series. Additionally,
Leigh Gill, Elijah Oshin, Finn Stephens, William Nash, Sirine Saba,
Richard Durden, and
Bríd Brennan were cast as Griphook, Dean Thomas, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Pomona Sprout, Cuthbert Binns and Poppy Pomfrey, respectively. In October,
Lambert Wilson joined the cast as
Nicolas Flamel and
Marthe Keller as
Perenelle Flamel. In March 2026, casting announcements for many Hogwarts students were announced.
Design Holly Waddington serves as the
costume designer. For
Muggles, she researched what people were wearing in 1991 to make them feel as true as possible. She commented that the Muggles clothing is "pastel-oriented, very cold colors," with emphasis on synthetic fabrics. The children's Hogwarts uniforms were made mostly of wool, organic cotton shell buttons, wooden buttons and Scottish tartan. Mara LePere-Schloop serves as the
production designer. She mentioned about the "inherent desire to be rooted in naturalism." Animals' prototypes have been created using
animatronics, including 10 owls with 36,000 feathers each and two rats playing Scrabbers.
Filming .
Principal photography began on 14 July 2025, under the
working title Dark Train, at
Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in Watford, Hertfordshire, where the original eight
Harry Potter films were also filmed, with Mylod directing and
Adriano Goldman as cinematographer. A temporary school for the child actors was built at the studio, designed to be used by up to 600 pupils. In May 2025, sets for the series had reportedly already begun to be built. That same month, the film crew spent over a week at the
Île de Sein in
Brittany, filming around the
Tévennec Lighthouse. On 14 July 2025, the first photo from production was released, showing McLaughlin dressed in character. On 17 July, filming was spotted taking place at the
London Zoo, with McLaughlin, Powley, Rigby, Kitson, and Mickey McAnulty dressed in character. On 18 August, filming took place at
Borough High Street, in
Southwark, London, with McLaughlin and Frost present. On 24 and 25 August, filming occurred at
King's Cross station with the actors playing the Weasley family. In mid-September, filming took place in
Hoddesdon with
Daniel Rigby present, and at
Wardown Park in
Luton with actors believed to be portraying
Lily Potter and
James Potter. The following week,
Deadline confirmed a report that
William, Prince of Wales and
Catherine, Princess of Wales, along with their children
Prince George of Wales,
Princess Charlotte of Wales, and
Prince Louis of Wales had visited the
Hogsmeade Station set built at
Windsor Great Park. In early October, scenes were shot in
Cornwall, including
Cadgwith,
Carnglaze Caverns and
Kynance Cove. On 21 October, filming took place on a rooftop in
Skipton. By November, production took place in
Ashridge with numerous cast members, which is also where the Quidditch World Cup scenes from
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) were filmed. Filming for the first season is expected to last until mid-2026, with production on the second season set to begin a few months thereafter. In November 2025, Bloys reaffirmed his intention to film these seasons back-to-back.
Post-production Alexis Wajsbrot serves as the
visual effects supervisor.
Music Hans Zimmer and his music company,
Bleeding Fingers Music, had been revealed to compose the score by January 2026. == Marketing ==