Warner Bros.: Harry Potter TV series deal in talks for HBO Max

JK Rowling’s original Harry Potter series could soon be adapted as a TV show on HBO Max. Bloomberg first broke the news on Monday, reporting Warner Bros. is close to a deal that would see each of the Juggernaut books adapted for the service episodically: one book per season. Sources familiar with the matter confirmed talks but told IndieWire a deal is not imminent at this time.

It’s a predictable leap into old intellectual property before Warner Bros.’ bold move to combine HBO Max and Discovery+ into a single streaming platform. Expected sometime in the summer of 2023, the mystery Franken streamer will cost around $20 a month, about $5 more than comparable subscribers are paying now.

Rumors of a Harry Potter TV series have swirled through fantasy fandom for years, but enthusiasm for the project has increasingly met Rowling’s controversy. The author has been widely criticized online and elsewhere in her writing for her political views and her repeated attacks on transgender women and the LGBTQ community. Other spinoff media faced the same challenges. Earlier this year, the Hogwarts Legacy video game experienced a significant setback online, spurring rumors of a widespread boycott that ultimately fizzled.

Unlike the Fantastic Beasts franchise, the proposed Harry Potter TV show would re-adapt the story previously played on the big screen by Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint from 2001 to 2011. Rowling could reportedly reach out to the series as some sort of creative production capacity, but would not serve as showrunner or primary creator, according to Bloomberg.

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