Harry Potter Reboot TV Series in the Works From HBO

A Harry Potter television series is in the works at HBO. According to Bloomberg, HBO’s parent company Warner Bros. is nearing a deal for a television series based on the book series by JK Rowling with the series to be set for both cable and streaming. Per the report, each season of the series will be based on one book in the series, indicating that the series is looking for a seven-season run. The series is expected to be the cornerstone of a new streaming strategy and the report also indicates that Warner Bros. Discovery’s CEO David Zaslav and HBO chief Casey Bloys worked to convince Rowling to produce the new series.

Warner Bros. Discovery has previously indicated that they were looking to expand their Harry Potter franchise. The studio previously produced the original Harry Potter film adaptations as well as the prequel Fantastic Beasts franchise. Last month, Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels indicated that even more Harry Potter was on the horizon, something that this news about the television series seems to prove.

“Take Harry Potter as an example, the Wizarding World, the fact that we are enjoying this massive success with the Hogwarts Legacy launch, 12 years after the last film came out, shows that there is so much opportunity and we’re only just starting to expand that,” Wiedenfels shared while speaking about the studio’s promising properties during a panel at Morgan Stanley’s investor conference, per Variety. “We’ve got the new Harry Potter tour coming up in Tokyo in the middle of the year. Long story short, I think this one-company approach, great leadership in the individual business units, but coordinated franchise management is probably one of the biggest opportunities the company has.”

As for the new Harry Potter television series, the Bloomberg report indicates that Rowling will be involved with the project to make sure that it “remains loyal to her original material” but is not expected to show run or even serve as primary creator. Rowling has come under fire in recent years over controversial comments, including transphobic sentiments, though during the company’s Q3 earnings call last year, Zaslav expressed a desire to prioritize several movie franchise, including Harry Potter, and noted at the time that he wanted to work further with Rowling.

“If we can do something with JK on Harry Potter going forward,” Zaslav said in part at the time.

According to the Bloomberg report, the deal for the HBO Harry Potter television series is still being finalized and more information about Warner Bros. Discovery’s new streaming strategy is expected to be announced next week.