The planned Harry Potter TV series at Warner Bros. has long been in development for the past few years and the studio has made the announcement this morning that they’re aiming for a 2026 release. The new TV series adaptation will be transforming each of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels into a single season, meaning that the entire series could span seven seasons or more. David Zaslav revealed that he met with J.K. Rowling a few weeks ago in London for the high-profile project.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Zaslav shared his excitement of taking on this new phase of the property. He states, “We’ve not been shy about our excitement around Harry Potter. The last film was made more than a dozen years ago.” He also details his meeting with Rowling, “I was in London a few weeks ago with Casey [HBO and Max chief Casey Bloys] and Channing [WBD TV chief Channing Dungey] and we spent some real time with J.K. and her team. Both sides are 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.”
For as long as the streaming project has been in development, it was not known if the director of much of the Harry Potter films, David Yates, would also transfer over into the series after having the tenure at Hogwarts. Yates would eventually come to the realization that he would not continue with the property. Back when Yates was promoting Pain Hustlers, he stated, “Do you know what? Honestly, I could not, in any conceivable way, get involved…It’s simply: I spent a long time at that school, in those corridors and in those classrooms, and it was an exquisite experience and one I will always treasure. But to go back and do another year or two, for me, I feel I’ve left it.”
Last year, the studio released a statement saying, “Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally.”