Harry Potter TV Series Coming In 2026, Controversial Creator JK Rowling Involved
So, I guess Warner Bros. Discovery is actually serious about this "Harry Potter" reboot series, huh?
The Wizarding World lost a whole lot of its glamor in the years immediately after "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" brought the saga of The Boy Who Lived to a close on the big screen in 2011. Between her sometimes exasperating additions to the franchise's lore, her constant attempts to insist the "Harry Potter" books are more inclusive than they really are, and her muddled efforts to continue the property in film form with her underwhelming "Fantastic Beasts" scripts, J.K. Rowling spent most of the 2010s burning through the goodwill she had amassed faster than a Golden Snitch whizzing around the Quidditch field. This was all before she damaged her legacy for good with her openly transphobic rhetoric and behavior, which reportedly includes donating £70,000 to an anti-trans group's battle over the legal definition of the term "woman" just this past week. In other words, this is one case where separating the art from the artist is impossible for anyone who claims to be an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Surprise, surprise, such ethical matters are of no concern to David Zaslav, the Warner Bros. Discovery CEO who treats the art his employees spent countless hours of their lives making with the same TLC of — to borrow a fitting analogy that's been making the rounds online — a contractor burning down a building in order to collect the insurance money. Speaking at the company's Q4 earnings call (via Variety), Zaslav confirmed that WBD's "Harry Potter" remake series is tentatively slated to begin streaming on Max in 2026. He also confirmed Rowling is playing an active role in its creative development (and, as such, stands to benefit financially from the project).
No spell can make this a good idea
Zaslav confirmed that he, HBO and Max content chairman and CEO Casey Bloys, and WB Television chairman Channing Dungey recently spent "some real time" with Rowling in London, saying, "Both sides just thrilled to be reigniting this franchise. Our conversations were great, and we couldn't be more excited about what's ahead. We can't wait to share a decade of new stories with fans around the world on Max." He also once again inaccurately suggested that the "Harry Potter" reboot TV series will be the first Wizarding World adaptation produced since 2011 ... although, honestly, it's hard to tell if Zaslav is just pretending the "Fantastic Beasts" films don't exist or if he genuinely doesn't know they're part of the same IP. (This is the same guy who apparently didn't even bother to watch "Coyote vs. Acme" before deciding to destroy it for a tax write-off.)
Part of me feels sorry for whoever ends up being saddled with making the "Harry Potter" series, between having to overcome the unavoidable comparisons to the original "Harry Potter" films (some of which are legitimately well-made) and figuring out a way to tell the same story people already know forwards and backward over roughly a decade (or, more precisely, a book per season) without the whole thing feeling like a cross between a hollow retread and a greatest hits collection. Then again, anyone who signs on for this project will do so while being fully aware of Rowling and her conduct, so they'll just have to make their bed and lie in it, I suppose.