There have been a lot of updates about the “Harry Potter” TV series recently. The biggest piece of news is probably that the main trio — Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, who were played by Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson in the film franchise — has been cast and three newcomers will portray the three best friends. Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout, and Arabella Stanton will take the reins from Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson, respectively, and potentially spend the next decade or so playing these beloved characters. (The show is intended to adapt a book a season for seven seasons, which, based on production time, will presumably take at least 10 years).
Some other newcomers have been cast as Hogwarts students Draco Malfoy, Seamus Finnegan, Parvati Patil, and Lavender Brown — they’ll be portrayed by Lox Pratt, Leo Earley, Alessia Leoni, and Sienna Moosah — and a handful of recognizable older actors are rounding out the adult cast. John Lithgow is Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore, Nick Frost will play Hogwarts groundskeeper Rubeus Hagrid, Paapa Essiedu is set to play Potions master Severus Snape, and parents like Lucius Malfoy and Molly Weasley (Johnny Flynn and Katherine Parkinson) have also been cast, though they’ve all been considerably aged down from their predecessors in the “Harry Potter” movies (which, to be fair, is more in line with the original books themselves).
Things are moving fast, which makes sense; as of this writing, the “Harry Potter” series is set to premiere on HBO sometime in 2027. Still, things aren’t going completely smoothly; it’s hard to talk about this new “Harry Potter” project without mentioning the controversy surrounding Wizarding World creator Joanne “J.K.” Rowling, who has taken a firm stance against transgender women and is putting her considerable financial weight behind efforts to restrict the freedom of transgender people in the United Kingdom. Rowling’s views have understandably disappointed and alienated a large swath of the franchise’s fans, but the fact of the matter is that “Harry Potter” is still undeniably popular. It is, however, still vital to keep Rowling’s views in mind as we watch this project continue to take shape.
If you miss Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson wandering through the sets in the original “Harry Potter” films, those movies are streaming on Peacock now.