‘Harry Potter’ Live-Action Series Reportedly in Development at HBO Max

The Boy Who Lived is about to get a second life on HBO Max. A live-action Harry Potter series is currently in the works at the streamer, the Hollywood Reporter reports, although the show is in “early development.”

Details about the upcoming project are sparse. According to THR, executives at HBO Max “have engaged in multiple conversations with potential writers” and are “exploring various ideas” to bring Harry Potter to the small screen. As of now, “broad ideas” have been floated in the “early-stage exploratory meetings,” a source told the outlet.

Still, no writers or talent have been officially tapped to join the new series, and no deals have been formally established in the early stages. “There are no Harry Potter series in development at the studio or on the streaming platform,” HBO Max and Warner Bros. shared in a statement to THR.

The Harry Potter news comes ten years after the final Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part II, was released in theaters in 2011. Since the end of its eight-film run, the franchise has only continued to spawn new projects and still holds a loyal fanbase. In the years since the last Deathly Hallows film, the Harry Potter universe has only expanded to include two Fantastic Beasts spinoff films released in 2016 and 2018 — with three more in the works — and a Broadway musical, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” which opened in 2018.

With a possible Harry Potter TV series, HBO Max would see the return of the magical wizarding world, which briefly called the streaming platform home last year. When HBO Max first launched, it offered subscribers all eight Harry Potter films, but the movies all left the service only three months later and landed on Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service. While the Harry Potter films have since left Peacock, they’re slated to return to the streamer later this year.

Where to watch Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone