Harry Potter fanatics brace yourselves because it look like HBO Max has a treat for you. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the WarnerMedia-owned streaming service is currently in early development for a Harry Potter live-action TV series. The process of bringing the show to TV is still so early that there isn’t any talent attached to the project as yet, though sources told THR that executives at Warner Bros. have conducted some meetings with potential writers for the project.
“News that talks are under way for a Harry Potter TV series should come as no surprise given the value of the franchise to Warner Bros. Rowling’s seven-book series was adapted as eight feature films that grossed more than $7 billion worldwide,” THR reported.
If the series comes to fruition, the franchise would be joining some of the streaming service’s most anticipated reboots including the Friends reunion as well as an upcoming Sex and the City reboot.
Rights to the Harry Potter franchise are a bit murky, however. According to THR, author of the renowned books, J.K. Rowling controls the franchise, along with WarnerMedia. However, in 2016 Warner Bros. Domestic TV Distribution signed a seven-year rights deal with NBCUniversal which gave them U.S. broadcast, cable and streaming rights. The deal is set to expire in April 2025.
Because of that deal with NBCUniversal, all eight films in the Harry Potter film franchise were made available on HBO Max at launch, but were available for a limited time. The films headed to Peacock after three months on HBO Max, but is currently without a streaming home.
HBO Max is hoping that “Harry Potter” can join “Game of Thrones” as two of the main franchises that HBO Max can build around. With the success of Disney+ leveraging Star Wars and Marvel – other streamers are looking for their “Mandalorian”.