Twenty-five years ago, Warner Bros. put a young Daniel Radcliffe in round glasses and changed Christmas movie marathons forever. Now HBO wants its own turn. Its Harry Potter series, the first season titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, premieres on December 25, 2026 on HBO and HBO Max, with eight episodes. That's roughly a year earlier than HBO first planned, when the show was pencilled in for 2027.
Dumbledore is John Lithgow. Season 2 is already filming. And Gilderoy Lockhart, the most smug man in the wizarding world, will be played by the guy who spent eight years being told he knows nothing.
Christmas Day, a year ahead of schedule
For most of its development, the series was a 2027 project. As recently as March, TechRadar described the Christmas date as "earlier than planned," since the show "was originally due in 2027." Somewhere along the way HBO decided the best possible slot for a story that starts with a boy living in a cupboard was the one day of the year families are stuck on the same sofa anyway.
What HBO hasn't said yet is how the episodes will roll out. One episode a week, the way House of the Dragon runs, seems most likely, but there's no official schedule. So if you're planning a full binge between Christmas and New Year's, don't book the week off just yet.
Each season adapts one book. Season 1 covers Philosopher's Stone in eight episodes instead of one movie. That's the whole pitch, really: the stuff Chris Columbus had to cut for time finally gets screen time.
Meet the new Hogwarts
The three kids at the center of it all are newcomers. Dominic McLaughlin plays Harry, Arabella Stanton plays Hermione and Alastair Stout plays Ron. The adults are a far more familiar crowd:
- John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore
- Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall
- Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape
- Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid
- Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell
- Johnny Flynn and Lox Pratt as Lucius and Draco Malfoy
- Warwick Davis, back as Professor Flitwick
Warwick Davis returning from the films makes him the closest thing the show has to a family heirloom. Behind the camera, Francesca Gardiner (Succession, His Dark Materials) is showrunner, Mark Mylod is among the directors, and Hans Zimmer is writing a brand-new score. So no, you won't hear John Williams's theme. Brave choice.
Filming started on July 14, 2025, at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden under the working title Dark Train, with location shoots in London, Cornwall and even Brittany in France.
Why Lithgow almost walked away
Lithgow's casting got attention for two reasons. First, he's 81, and this show is planned to run for years. Second, J.K. Rowling is an executive producer, and her views on transgender people have made her a difficult name to be attached to.
He didn't dodge it. According to The New York Times, Lithgow considered leaving the series and decided to stay. He said he disagrees with Rowling's views, but that the books are "clearly on the side of the angels, against intolerance and bigotry." He also admitted the topic would come up "in every interview I will ever do for the rest of my life."
Honest. And probably accurate.
Not every casting conversation has been that civil. In March, Paapa Essiedu said he'd received death threats and racist abuse on social media over being cast as Snape. HBO has stood by its cast.
The trailer that broke the comment section
HBO Max's official teaser on YouTube has passed 10 million views and close to 18,000 comments, and reading them is half the fun. The most-liked reactions are less about the footage and more about how strange it feels to see someone else in those robes.
"Like seeing strangers in your old house," wrote @gungnir3926, and almost 29,000 people agreed. @Simonius-33 went full nostalgia: "How lucky we are that we saw original ones in our childhood..." @hellhound7572 put it more bluntly: "It will never be the same without Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman."
Others were too busy quoting the films to be upset. The top comment, with roughly 40,000 likes, is a joke from @Rasim9898: "As long as Dumbledore says calmly 'Harry, did you put your name in the goblet of fire' it will be a wonderful series." Fans of the books will understand why that's funny. Lithgow probably does too.
Sharp-eyed viewers spotted details the movies skipped. "Neville actually being there when they first meet fluffy," noted @GlennB9876. @mcspjunk caught a bit of blood on Ron after a Quidditch match and read it as a sign that the book's fight with Malfoy made the cut. And one design note kept coming up, summed up by @CtrlAltDefeat-y1x: "let's bring back color in films and shows for the love of god." Prestige TV and dark color grading, a love story that won't end.
Season 2 is already filming, with a new Lockhart
HBO renewed the series in May 2026, before a single episode had aired, and Chamber of Secrets was already shooting at Leavesden by September.
That's how confident Warner Bros. is in this thing.
The biggest Season 2 news is the man with the perfect teeth. In August, Deadline reported that Nicholas Hoult had left the role of Gilderoy Lockhart because of scheduling conflicts, and that Kit Harington would take over. It's less random than it sounds. Harington already voiced Lockhart in the Chamber of Secrets audiobook released in December 2025, so he's had a head start on the character's very high opinion of himself. After years as Jon Snow, a man nobody ever accused of vanity, playing the vainest wizard alive might be the most fun he's had on set in a while.
The rest of the Season 2 cast is filling in fast. Billy Barratt plays young Tom Riddle, Lenny Rush plays Dobby, Rafe Spall is Arthur Weasley, and Molly Hewitt-Richards plays Moaning Myrtle. Bonnie Hill replaces Gracie Cochrane as Ginny after Cochrane left in May, citing "unforeseen circumstances."
And yes, Peeves is in. Peter Serafinowicz has been cast as the poltergeist the films left out completely. That should please @WitnessFromEarth616, who wrote under the teaser that "the real test of 'book accurate' begins when Peeves starts ruining everyone's day."
Season 2 will be the test.
How long until the next one?
This is where HBO gets vague. Content chief Casey Bloys has said yearly seasons aren't realistic, but he told Deadline: "It's not going to be two years [between seasons], but we're trying hard to keep it as compressed as possible." Asked whether the show will stick to the decade-long plan HBO talked about at the start, he said, "Who knows?"
Which is the real challenge here. The child actors will grow up whether HBO is ready or not, and the films had the same problem, only with a faster schedule.
Should you watch it?
If you grew up with the films, you're going to compare everything, and that's fine. The YouTube comments show you won't be the only one. But a season that spends eight episodes on the first book is exactly what book fans have been asking for since 2001, and the trailer suggests HBO is taking the source seriously.
Set aside Christmas evening. Keep the movies on standby for the family members who'd rather not meet a new Hagrid. And if anyone at dinner says the show will never match the originals, point them to Kit Harington's teeth in Season 2. That should start a whole new argument.
