HBO has described its commitment to the upcoming Harry Potter TV series as a “financial investment we wouldn’t normally make” in order to bring the series’ full story to life.
Filming for the show began last summer, with a plan to turn each of the Harry Potter books into a full season of television. That plan will see work on the series continue for much of the next decade, with actors signed up to portray their characters through the end of production.
Speaking today at the Series Mania TV conference (via Variety), HBO Max head of original programming Sarah Aubrey described the project as “such a big commitment” for the streamer, at a cost that would otherwise be unheard of. As part of the same event, HBO also released an image from the series, showing Harry Potter (Dominic McLaughlin) about to play Quidditch.
“It’s just very special working on something that means that much,” Aubrey continued. “There’s a lot of pressure, but it’s also very, very special… The world that has been created is absolutely extraordinary.”
Earlier this month, a major set leak revealed our first look at the show’s new version of Diagon Alley, the magical shopping street featured throughout the series. Leaked footage shows a lavish physical set that clearly will not have come cheap — though HBO has clearly invested now to benefit from being able to film there across future seasons.
Aubrey said HBO had recently taken several Harry Potter influencers to the set, and that they had “burst into tears” seeing the Wizarding World brought to life in a fresh level of detail.
Indeed, Harry Potter fansite The Leaky Cauldron has posted their report from the set visit, which credits the physical sets as feeling complete rather than a mixture of practical elements and green screen. The report also confirms yet another scene we’ll get in the TV series that’s not in the books: Hermione receiving her Hogwarts letter.
As for HBO’s investment, it’s perhaps not a surprise that the series is such an unprecedented commitment for the company. It’s hard to recall another show that HBO has greenlit at least seven seasons for upfront, with only Game of Thrones as a comparison in terms of big budget productions.
HBO’s series is expected to debut in early 2027 with an eight-episode first season. Filming began last summer, with various glimpses spotted by fans including work on fresh scenes not from the prior movies or books. Indeed, last month we learned the surprising news that we’ll be seeing more of Draco Malfoy’s home life, as the show won’t be told from “over Harry’s shoulder” like the books or movies.
As for other big changes, the show plans feature John Lithgow’s Dumbledore meeting Nicolas Flamel, reintroduce History of Magic lessons with Richard Durden as Professor Binns, while Lucius Malfoy, Draco’s father played by Johnny Flynn, is expected to join the story in the first season of the show, before his introduction in the books and movies.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
