In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, one of the first tastes Harry (and the audience) gets of the Wizarding World is Diagon Alley. As Hagrid takes the young wizard shopping for school supplies, Harry learns some of the ins and outs of his new life. Diagon Alley is a perfect way to ease people in and introduce a variety of elements prevalent throughout the series, such as wands, owls who deliver the mail, and broomsticks. Though Diagon Alley either appears or is mentioned in all of the Harry Potter books, it has a particularly key presence in Sorcerer’s Stone, which means it will factor in heavily to the first season of HBO’s Harry Potter TV show. New behind-the-scenes photos from the series tease what fans can expect.
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On X, the account Universal Apex shared a photo of the new Diagon Alley set under construction. Several storefronts have are in place, and there are numerous others in the process of being put together. Workers can also be seen laying down bricks for the road. Check out the image in the space below:
Why HBO’s Diagon Alley Looks Perfect
One of the most impressive things about the Diagon Alley set is the large scale for a practical filming location. There are multiple levels being built, illustrating the crew’s commitment to fully immersing audiences in the Wizarding World. Making Diagon Alley a practical set will also help things from a filmmaking perspective. It’s an expansive area that can be populated with numerous extras, and the camera will be able to move freely throughout the environment. Over the past handful of years, digital production tools like the StageCraft have become more prevalent. Those technologies have a place and can be very useful, but their limitations mean they aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution.
Diagon Alley is also another example of HBO’s Harry Potter nailing the franchise’s distinct aesthetic. Much like the images of the Hogwarts Express and various character costumes, Diagon Alley looks exactly as it should, with a plethora of magical shops close together for Hogwarts students to explore. It will be interesting to see if the series takes advantage of its medium by providing viewers with a more comprehensive tour of Diagon Alley, perhaps showcasing stores that were cut from the movies. If nothing else, that would be a great way to highlight the tremendous work the crew has done putting the location together.
That work should pay off in the long term. Since Diagon Alley is a recurring location in the Harry Potter saga, this set should be able to be used in multiple seasons. This could explain why HBO is going all out making a full, practical set. In all likelihood, it wasn’t cheap to construct a complete Diagon Alley, but it was easier for executives to sign the checks knowing that this isn’t going to be a one-time thing.
HBO’s Harry Potter still has a lot of questions to overcome, since there are a lot of similarities to the movie series that still resonates to this day. But seeing the set photos, it’s clear a lot of work and care is being put into making the show worthwhile. Ideally, all that effort will lead to something magical and memorable.
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