HBO announced the first wave of casting news for its upcoming “Harry Potter” series Monday, with John Lithgow, Janet McTeer, Paapa Essiedu and Nick Frost starring as Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, and Rubeus Hagrid, respectively.
The group will be joined by Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell and Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch. Lithgow tipped his casting in an interview earlier this year after reports he was being eyed for the role.
“We are happy to announce the casting of John Lithgow, Janet McTeer, Paapa Essiedu, Nick Frost, Luke Thallon and Paul Whitehouse to play Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Hagrid, Quirrell and Filch,” said Francesca Gardiner, showrunner and executive producer and Mark Mylod, director of multiple episodes and executive producer. “We’re delighted to have such extraordinary talent onboard, and we can’t wait to see them bring these beloved characters to new life.”
The series is described as a “faithful adaptation” of J.K. Rowling’s books and will explore “every corner of the wizarding world” through several seasons. The series will stream exclusively on Max.
Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans to reboot the beloved series in 2023. The show is expected to span a decade. Though it was not explicitly stated at the time, each season will likely cover the events of a school year.
“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 longform television series,” Rowling said at the time.
“We are delighted to give audiences the opportunity to discover Hogwarts in a whole new way,” Casey Bloys, HBO and Max Content CEO also said in a statement. “‘Harry Poter’ is a cultural phenomenon and it is clear that there is such an enduring love and thirst for the Wizarding World. In a partnership with Warner Bros. Television and J.K. Rowling, this new Max Original series will dive deep into each of the iconic books that fans have continued to enjoy for all of these years.”
In June 2024 the series was moved from Max to HBO as part of an overall brand strategy shift that will allow HBO to push larger series and Max to focus on the ever-changing world of streaming.
