The first verdict on HBO’s Harry Potter reboot is already in.
The series premieres this Christmas, 15 years after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011) ended the original film saga.
Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton, and Alastair Stout take over as Harry, Hermione, and Ron in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, which follows Harry’s first year at Hogwarts.
HBO is adapting one book per season, giving the reboot more room to restore characters and storylines cut from the movies.
John Lithgow stars as Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Snape, and Nick Frost as Hagrid.
The project has already divided fans. Some question the need to reboot a film series that ended relatively recently, while Essiedu’s casting has triggered intense backlash and racist abuse.
J.K. Rowling’s involvement has also remained controversial due to her views on transgender issues and her public clashes with stars of the original films.
Now, months before audiences can judge the finished series for themselves, HBO’s top executive has watched the entire first season.
HBO Boss Gives His Verdict on ‘Harry Potter’
HBO chairman and CEO Casey Bloys has seen all of Season 1 — and says he is extremely happy with it.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Bloys gave the first public verdict on the finished season.
“It is great, and I’m very, very happy,” he said. “So, I feel really, really good about that.”
Bloys is, of course, unlikely to publicly criticize one of HBO’s biggest upcoming releases.
Still, his comments arrive after the network released its first substantial look at the series.
The trailers show several book details omitted or shortened in the films, including Harry being chased by Dudley’s gang at his Muggle primary school, Petunia cutting his hair, and Harry and Hagrid riding the London Underground.
Footage has also shown the Sorting Ceremony, Quidditch, Professor Sprout’s greenhouse, and redesigned Hogwarts interiors.
Smaller book details appear throughout, including Dumbledore’s half-moon spectacles, dirt on Ron’s nose, and newly designed Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans.
The series is also leaning into its 1990s setting rather than modernizing Harry’s childhood.
That extra detail is one of HBO’s biggest opportunities to separate the reboot from the films.
The original Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone movie ran for just over two and a half hours. A full television season gives HBO much more time to adapt Rowling’s first novel.
Season 2 Is Already Moving Ahead
HBO has already renewed Harry Potter for Season 2 before the first episode airs.
The next season will adapt Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, with work already underway as HBO attempts to limit the gap between installments.
Writer Jon Brown has been promoted to co-showrunner alongside Francesca Gardiner to help manage the overlapping productions.
Casting for Season 2 has also begun, with Lenny Rush set to play Dobby and Billy Barratt cast as the young Tom Riddle, and filming is underway. Recent reports have also suggested that HBO has reworked its scripts.
Bloys has warned, however, that the scale of the production means viewers should not expect a new season every year.
“Our goal is to not have a huge gap, you know, especially because the kids are growing,” he said. “It’s not going to be an annual; the show is too big and too massive. But … they’re writing the season two now.”
Are you excited for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone?
