HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter TV series conjures a summer production start in Leavesden after 32,000 kids audition

Last Updated on December 9, 2024

HBO is ready to meet the cast and crew of its upcoming Harry Potter TV series on Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross Station. They’ll then board a train to Leavesden this summer to begin production. Showrunner Francesca Gardiner and EP Mark Mylod surprised the attendants of a Max Showcase in London to reveal the official start of her “very very specifically British 1990s production.”

The latest big-budget Harry Potter project has thousands of young actors looking to land the roles of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. 32,000, to be exact. The Harry Potter TV series says it’s adhering to the “canonical” ages of specific characters. Still, others are likely to change, including the Dursleys, who will be younger in the show. Gardiner says the cast will experience a “bigger sandpit to play in” when her Harry Potter TV series begins.

Yesterday, The Hollywood Reporter said that Paapa Essiedu could play the role of Severus Snape, a thorn in Harry’s side and friend to the boy with the lightning bolt scar’s fallen parents. Essiedu’s potential casting was met with immediate vile and venom from a subsection of angry fans, who say the actor fails to resemble the pasty Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher’s description. Previously, a casting call asked for all races, ethnicities, and gender identities to audition for many roles.

There’s been no official casting on the Harry Potter TV series yet, but Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) is said to be close to signing on to play Albus Dumbledore. The casting process for the three leading kids has begun. An open call was put out for children who are residents of the U.K. and Ireland and will be between the ages of 9 and 11 in April 2025 to play Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. Succession’s Francesca Gardiner will serve as a writer and showrunner on the series, while Mark Mylod signed on to executive produce and direct multiple episodes. The project was originally developed for Max but made the leap to HBO (along with various other Max shows) in June.

Are you excited or skeptical about HBO’s new Harry Potter TV series? Will a television adaptation give fans more of what they want than the original film series? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.