Harry Potter TV series will be released far sooner than you think

The release of what is set to be a decades-long return of Harry Potter has been confirmed by the top brass at HBO.

The lavish TV adaptation has been in the works for years now, and photos from filming at Leavesden Studios finally started to trickle out last summer following a raft of casting announcements. 

All seven of the controversial author JK Rowling’s wizarding books will be adapted by HBO, in the hopes of seeking out a new generation of fans.

While reports initially stated that the show would arrive in 2026, that was subsequently clarified as 2027. HBO boss Casey Bloys has now nailed down when exactly next year the first batch of this mammoth seven-part undertaking will arrive.

When asked for an official release date in an interview with Deadline, Bloys said, ‘Well, we’ve been saying 2027. 

‘I would say, to narrow it down to some extent, early 2027. And now you’re going to ask, does that mean January, February, March, April? That we’re not ready to say. I’ll say early 2027.’

While most of the cast announcements have now been made, one large nose-less hole remains for who will play Potter’s archnemesis Voldemort. Although, Ralph Fiennes recently appeared to inadvertently confirm that Cillian Murphy will be taking on the role, not that an official announcement has come yet.

Author Rowling, 60, will serve as executive producer on the reboot, having interviewed and signed off on the appointment of showrunner Francesca Gardiner, who worked on Killing Eve. 

Yet the show and the creatives involved have come under serious fire due to the association with Rowling, who has mounted a sustained attack on the trans community in recent years.

Most recently, John Lithgow defended his decision to sign on to the show, saying it was a ‘hard’ decision to make after he was urged to bow out of the production by fans.

Lithgow told Variety that he takes the subject of Rowling’s anti-trans views ‘extremely seriously’.

‘She has created this amazing canon for young people, and it has jumped into the consciousness of the society,’ he added of the Potter universe. ‘It’s about good versus evil, kindness versus cruelty. I find her views ironic and inexplicable.’

The six-time Emmy winner went on to say: ‘It upsets me when people are opposed to me having anything to do with this.

‘But in “Potter” canon, you see no trace of transphobic sensitivity.’

The Harry Potter TV show will air on HBO in early 2027.

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