'Harry Potter' TV series based on book series announced
The "Harry Potter" franchise is getting the TV treatment for the first time ever.
News of the magical series, billed as a decade-long retelling of J.K. Rowling's beloved books, was announced Wednesday as Warner Bros. Discovery detailed the merging of HBO Max and Discovery+ into a single streaming platform, dubbed Max.
A new cast will portray the titular "Boy Who Lived," Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and their Hogwarts friends, frenemies and foes.
"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," Max touted in a press release.
Rowling, who is serving as executive producer on the project, said of the announcement, "Max's commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I'm looking forward to being part of this new adaptation which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long form television series."
Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content, added, "We are delighted to give audiences the opportunity to discover Hogwarts in a whole new way."
The first "Harry Potter" book was published in 1997, with the seventh and final in the main book series coming out in 2007. The film series, which consisted of eight films and made household names of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, was released between 2001 and 2011.
A spin-off film and prequel series starring Eddie Redmayne as wizard and "magizoologist" Newt Scamander kicked off in 2016 with "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and has featured two sequels to date, one in 2018 and one in 2022.
A stage play by Jack Thorne, titled "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" and based on an original story by Rowling, Thorne and John Tiffany, has been running since 2016.
