Harry Potter is set to return — to the small screen — in 2026.
The first installment of the Harry Potter TV series is targeted to hit the Max streaming service in 2026, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said on the company’s Q4 earnings call Friday. The series is expected to span seven seasons, adapting each book in J.K. Rowling’s best-selling fantasy book series.
“We’ve not been shy about our excitement around Harry Potter,” Zaslav told analysts, noting that the last film in the series from Warner Bros. Pictures was made more than a dozen years ago. (“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” was released in 2011.)
Zaslav said he was in London a few weeks ago with HBO and Max content boss Casey Bloys and Channing Dungey, chairperson of Warner Bros. Television, to meet with author J.K. Rowling about the show.
“We spent some real time with J.K. and her team,” Zaslav said on the call. “Both sides are 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.”
No casting for the Harry Potter TV series has been announced to date, but WBTV has said it will feature an all-new cast from the films. Daniel Radcliffe, who portrayed the Boy Who Lived in the eight Warner Bros. movies, has said he’s “definitely not seeking it out in any way” as far as appearing in the new show.
In an interview with Variety last month, Dungey discussed progress on the Harry Potter/Wizarding World series, to be produced by Warner Bros. TV for Max. As announced last year, each season of the “decade-long series” will be based on one of the books in the franchise.
“We’re in conversations with a number of different writers to figure out who’s going to be the person to lead that franchise for us,” said Dungey, who added that rumors speculating that casting is already under way are inaccurate. “The first step for us is figuring out who this showrunner is going to be and once we get that locked down, then we can start having those [casting] conversations. The tricky part is the first two books, where the kids are on the younger end, around 11 or 12.”
Rowling — who in the past few years has made controversial statements about gender viewed as anti-trans — last year responded to Harry Potter fans who say they plan to boycott Max’s TV adaptation over her involvement. “Activists in my mentions are trying to organize yet another boycott of my work, this time of the ‘Harry Potter’ TV show. As forewarned is forearmed, I’ve taken the precaution of laying in a large stock of champagne,” Rowling wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).