After months of rumours, Warner Bros MAX ‘Harry Potter‘ TV series has officially announced six of the cast taking key roles – John Lithgow, Paapa Essiedu, Nick Frost, Janet McTeer, Luke Thallon and Paul Whitehouse.
As I’m sure most people on the planet are aware at this point, JK Rowling’s series of novels follows the exploits of teen wizard Harry Potter, along with his friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, as they progress through their years as students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Whilst the roles of Harry, Hermione, and Ron have not yet been announced, rumours have been flying around for months about the casting of the Hogwarts staff. Now confirmed, John Lithgow (‘Dexter’, The Crown’, ‘The Old Man’) will take on the role of Albus Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu (‘The Lazarus Project’, ‘The Capture’, ‘I May Destroy You’, ‘Gangs of London’) will play Severus Snape, Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, Into the Badlands) will protray Hagrid, and Janet McTeer (MobLand, Kaos, Jessica Jones) will be Minerva McGonagall.
While those roles had been rumoured for a while, two new faces were announced today. Stage actor Luke Thallon (National Theatre’s Present Laughter, RSC’s Hamlet) as Quirinus Quirell, and Paul Whitehouse (The Fast Show, The Death of Stalin, Gone Fishing) as Argus Filch.
This is planned to be a massive “decade-long series” and is being pitched as “a faithful adaptation of the beloved Harry Potter books.” The original press release continues saying “Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally.”
The Harry Potter TV series comes from writer/showrunner and executive producer Francesca Gardiner (His Dark Materials, Succession, Killing Eve), alongside Mark Mylod (The Last of Us, Succession, Game of Thrones), who directs multiple episodes for HBO in association with Brontë Film and TV and Warner Bros. Television. Production is set to begin this summer at Leavesden Studios.
“We’re delighted to have such extraordinary talent onboard, and we can’t wait to see them bring these beloved characters to new life,” commented Gardiner and Mylod in a statement.
The ‘Harry Potter‘ TV series will air on the MAX streaming service, where it is available. MAX is expected to launch in the UK in Early 2026. If you want to keep track of this or any other shows, you can add them via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date.
