It was in April 2023 that we first learned of plans to reboot Harry Potter for streaming and Warner Bros. Discovery has since embarked on a lengthy quest to find a creative team for the decade-long series.
Yesterday, the news broke that the show has moved from Max to the HBO cable network and we now have a confirmed showrunner, producers, and director (via SFFGazette.com).
HBO, in association with Warner Bros. Television, has named Francesca Gardiner (Succession, His Dark Materials, Killing Eve) as showrunner and executive producer, and Mark Mylod (Succession, Game of Thrones, The Last of Us) as executive producer and director of multiple episodes of the upcoming original series.
A brief logline has also been released which reads, "The series will be a faithful adaptation of the beloved 'Harry Potter' book series by author and executive producer J.K. Rowling. The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail and much-loved characters 'Harry Potter' fans have loved for over twenty-five years."
"Each season will bring 'Harry Potter' and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and cherished films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally."
With this team in place, we'd imagine the next step will be to start casting the series. Seeing as those actors will need to agree to play these characters for a good 10 years or more, it will be interesting to see what kind of names the project attracts.
HBO's Harry Potter is also executive produced by J.K. Rowling, Neil Blair, and Ruth Kenley-Letts of Brontë Film and TV, and David Heyman of Heyday Films.
Rowling is thought to have been heavily involved with hiring the reboot's creative team despite remaining extremely outspoken on social media about trans people. That's led to a war of words between the author and many of the actors who starred in the Wizarding World movies.
"I'm truly thrilled to announce our director and writer, both of whom I interviewed as part of the production team," the author said today. "Both have a genuine passion for [Harry Potter], and having read Francesca's pilot script and heard Mark's vision, I'm certain the TV show will more than live up to expectations."
Stay tuned for updates.