‘Harry Potter’ TV Series in the Works as Warner Bros. Discovery’s Focus on Franchise Continues

The rumors of a “Harry Potter” reboot at Warner Bros. Discovery are taking one step closer to becoming fact. Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw is reporting that a TV series based on the wizarding world is nearing an official series order. The new show will air on both HBO and WBD’s new streaming service to be unveiled next week, taking the place of HBO Max.

The new show would be a reboot in the truest sense of the word; it would tell the same stories that the films already do, but with more detail. The current outline is to have each season cover the events of one book in the seven-volume “Harry Potter” series, which will allow showrunners to dive more deeply than the movies could with their two-hour runtimes.

The deal is awaiting final approval from author J.K. Rowling, who will serve in a production and advisory capacity if the show goes into series. Rowling’s repeated comments about the trans community have angered many fans over the past few years, but her work has turned into one of WBD’s most valuable franchises, and the company sees expanding the intellectual property in its catalog as a way to quickly bring about profitability.

More details on the new series will be released on April 12, when WBD will hold a press conference regarding the launching of its new streaming platform. The new service will combine most of the content from discovery+ with everything from HBO Max, and is likely to be called “Max.” The press conference will touch on myriad topics, including the company’s sports streaming plans, and the increased focus on franchises that is leading to more projects like the proposed “Harry Potter” series.

Those plans include new movies in “The Lord of the Rings” franchise, an essential hitting of the restart button on the DC Universe, a prequel series to the movies based on Stephen King’s “It,” and more content set in the “Game of Thrones” universe.

Still, WBD is taking a risk with the new “Potter” series. Big-name franchises are a proven draw for streamers, but the company is taking a far different approach than Amazon did with “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.” Instead of telling a new story with new characters that will feature familiar themes and locations, WBD is simply going with the same plot and characters all over again. That allows for more instantaneous brand recognition, but it also takes the gamble that viewers will remain interested in a story that they already know the ending of, and have already seen on screen.

Either way, there’s no doubt that Potterheads across the land are celebrating the news. If you need to take this opportunity to catch up on the “Harry Potter” film series, it can be streamed in its entirety on HBO Max or Peacock.