The New Harry Potter Series – Expectations and Doubts

[Matthew Flitwick]

Rumors are spreading about a new series that is supposed to be based on the world of Harry Potter. What do you think about it? Do you believe the series will be able to maintain the magic and spirit of the original stories? What are your expectations and concerns regarding this series? Will the new cast be able to portray the characters in a way that compares to what we are used to from the films, or might potential changes to the characters disappoint you?

To be completely honest, I'm not too excited about the upcoming series. What worries me the most is how the characters will be portrayed. For me, Harry Potter and all the other characters, like Filius Flitwick, are inseparably linked to the actors from the original films. Now that different actors will appear in the series, I'm afraid I won't experience these characters in the same way, which could lessen my connection to the story.

[February Fortescue]

I can completely relate to your concerns!

So there's going to be a new TV series, scheduled for 2025. Supposedly, this one is going to stick more closely to the books, and cover a book each year. I'm on the fence with this one. How she had Dumbledore portrayed in the Fantastic Beasts movies wasn't Dumbledore to me at all. There just wasn't any continuity with the original - books or movies! And the movies tended to gloss over the flaws of the characters, in my opinion (your opinion may differ).

I'm wondering if those who have only seen the movies and not read the books will have a completely different experience, because the series is following the books?

I'm going to adopt a "wait and see" attitude.

[Matthew Flitwick]

I completely understand where you're coming from. The attachment to the original actors is something I think many fans share. The way Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, among others, brought the characters to life is so deeply ingrained in our minds that it's hard to imagine anyone else stepping into those roles. I think the upcoming series has a huge challenge in trying to win over fans who have such a strong connection to the original films.

As you mentioned, there's also the concern about continuity and how the characters will be portrayed. If the series aims to stick more closely to the books, it might offer a different perspective that even book fans haven't seen yet. But at the same time, it's a fine line—if they stray too far from what we've come to love in the films, it could alienate some viewers.

It’s also interesting to think about how people who haven’t read the books will perceive the series. They might end up with a very different understanding of the Harry Potter universe compared to those of us who have both read the books and seen the movies. This could be a positive thing, giving them a more in-depth look at the story, or it could create a disconnect if the tone and portrayal differ too much from what they're used to.

Ultimately, I think it’s natural to feel a bit apprehensive about this new series. It’s a big task to take something so beloved and try to recreate it in a new way. Hopefully, they manage to capture the essence of what made the books and films so magical while bringing something fresh to the table.

[Janne Halla]

I'm actually optimistically excited for the series. HBO/Max has produced some of my favourite TV programmes and I think out of all networks, they'd do the best job. Succession, Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, Westworld, Barry, Chernobyl, and others. Sure, some of the seasons aren't the best, but overall, they're the best.

I wanted the story of the series to be set in another time (either the Founders era or maybe First wizarding war), but I'm happy with the 'Trio Era' as well. I hope that this will be an opportunity for the characters to be more fleshed out and make some of their reactions and personality changes make more sense when more scenes from the books are included.

I hope for the best, but I prepare for the worst. Whatever happens, I just wish that people will be decent to the new cast. Some big shoes to fill.

[Anne-Marie Gagne]

With remakes of things, I'm always optimistic about it being good. I understand that people are attached to the actors from the movies but I think it being a tv show will actually be a good move for the series and having new actors will freshen up the series. I'm also the kind of person to really enjoy things even if a majority finds those things "bad" or "mid". Also I'm assuming/hoping that the episodes will be an hour long and that they do real season lengths and not the "new" season lengths. Meaning I'm hoping for a full 21-26 episodes per season instead of what some streaming sites are doing with only 8 to maybe 10 that I've seen people complain about online (I don't actually watch a lot of newer shows anymore so this may be a very rare case).

Anyways, Janne is right that HBO/Max has been really good about producing amazing shows so I'm even more optimistic about the story being good and we may even get actors that are actually closer in age to the characters they're portraying (Alan Rickman and Gary Oldman were absolutely so good in their roles but they weren't anywhere close to being the canon ages of Severus and Sirius).

Agreeing with Janne again but I also hope that regardless of how well it is or isn't, I hope people aren't horrible to the cast but that is one thing I'm not very optimistic about (and my reasons for it are for a different kind of discussion).

[Luna Ravenlong]

I am very apprehensive about a the new TV series for a number of reasons. Firstly, just the fact that I grew up with the films and I can’t imagine anyone else as those characters (especially Snape, even though I know Alan Rickman was too old). Those films are my childhood and I will struggle to see anyone else in those roles.

Then there’s the fact that the media presence will be enormous and the scrutiny of the young actors (particularly the main trio) will be massive. Just on an ethical level, I’m not sure how I feel about them being put under that much pressure.

Finally, I think it will be incredibly difficult to get the amount of content they’d need for a full series for the first couple of years using actors young enough. Just on a purely technical level, based on the amount of hours child actors aged 11 are allowed to work-the actor who plays Harry would have to be in virtually every scene! The most obvious solution would be to use older actors, which would make it a completely different show.

I do still hope the show can surpass my expectations-but to be honest, I’m not hopeful.

[River Fenwick]

I'm a bit split on it, especially as more information comes out. The potential casting options, especially for adult roles, don't match how based on their previous roles versus their potential casting of these roles. Despite the significant difference in roles, I'm hopeful that the actors will be flexible enough to pull it off. As previously stated, HBO seems to be one of the better networks that could've done this, so ultimately, I'll have to wait and see and attempt to be as unbiased by my love for the original cast. I believe I saw somewhere that each season will have eight hour-long episodes, which means more content outside of what was already covered in the movies (don't hold me to this).