Upcoming ‘Harry Potter’ series on MAX already has a premiere year

It’s official, the Harry Potter TV series adapting the novels will arrive in 2026, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO and President David Zaslav announced. The announcement of the series came this morning during the company’s Q4 earnings call, as per The Hollywood Reporter. “We’ve not been shy about our excitement around Harry Potter. The last film was made more than a dozen years ago,” Zaslav said during the call.

During this earnings call, Zaslav mentioned that he met with series creator J.K. Rowling in London a few weeks ago and mentioned how excited both parties are about the return of this story.  “I was in London a few weeks ago with Casey [HBO and Max chief Casey Bloys] and Channing [WBD TV chief Channing Dungey] and we spent some real time with J.K. and her team,” he said. “Both sides are thrilled to be reigniting this franchise. Our conversations were great, and we couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead. We can’t wait to share a decade of new stories with fans around the world on Max.”

Harry Potter and the state of the Wizarding World at Warner Bros.

The Harry Potter TV series has been in development since 2021 and until relatively recently, in April last year, the official announcement was made that the 7 books of the Boy Who Lived saga had been greenlit for television. Warner Bros. plans the series to run for 10 years and be a MAX exclusive. For the time being, there are no announcements about the possible cast or when filming will begin.+

But for every return of Harry Potter, other parts of the Wizarding World are on hold. The Fantastic Beasts franchise, a prequel to the Harry Potter adventures, is “parked” according to director David Yates. Although a total of 5 films were expected, this franchise is, in the words of its director, " sort of stop and pause.” So far neither Warner Bros. Discovery nor J.K. Rowling have commented on the matter.