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HBO is feeling confident in its new Harry Potter TV series, as it has renewed the show for a second season. In a new report from Variety, it was confirmed that Harry Potter’s second season will adapt the second novel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. This is hardly a shock to anyone, but something that may excite fans is that the new season will enter production this fall.
Given how long it takes to make VFX-heavy TV shows these days, some feared that the new Harry Potter series would take an extended amount of time to roll out. However, it seems HBO is keeping the momentum going on this series. Season 2’s production will overlap with post-production on the first season of the show, which is scheduled to premiere this Christmas.
Series writer Jon Brown has also been promoted to co-showrunner on Season 2 in order for the show to keep its momentum.
“As we have laid out our plans for the overlapping production schedules to finish Season 1 by Christmas and to return to production for Season 2 this autumn, it has become clear that bringing on a co-showrunner is the key to maintaining our momentum,” said Season 1 showrunner Francesca Gardiner in a statement. “I’ve loved working with Jon from the very first day we met on ‘Succession’ through to these recent times together on ‘Harry Potter.’ Not only do I have huge admiration for his writing, but he’s also a brilliant collaborator and a lovely person. We are lucky to have him.”
Still, despite this news, HBO has made it clear that fans shouldn’t expect a new season of Harry Potter every single year. HBO boss Casey Bloys explained to The Hollywood Reporter earlier this year that the scale of productions like this limits how quickly they can work.
“You have to balance it,” Bloys said. “For some of the bigger shows like Harry Potter or House of the Dragon, or The Last of Us, huge world-building shows, it would be nice to have those on an annual basis. But from a production point of view, it’s just not possible.
“It’s not that everybody involved is just taking their time and sitting around,” he continued. “These shows are complicated to do. In order to bring a show back on an annual basis, you do have to start from the beginning with people who know how to do it, people like [The Pitt executive producer] John Wells or Greg Berlanti, and it’s helpful if there are not dragons that need to be rendered, or zombies and things like that.”
HBO tends to release its shows weekly, so the first season of Harry Potter will likely run through February 2027. Maybe Harry Potter Season 2 will target a summer or fall 2028 release, but we’ll just have to wait and see. It’s a rather ambitious undertaking, but given the show revolves around young actors, the team behind the series will have to work quickly so their cast doesn’t age out of their roles.
Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN’s news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.
