The first-ever Harry Potter series is slated for the new Max streaming service, Warner Bros. Discovery officials announced Wednesday (April 12) as part of a presentation to investors and press.
The series will be based on each of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books, featuring a new cast distinct from the popular movie franchise, according to the streaming service, which next month will be merged with Discovery Plus and renamed Max from HBO Max.
According to the streamer, the "decade-long series" will be authentic to the original books. The Harry Potter film franchise has spawned eight films since 2001.
“We are delighted to give audiences the opportunity to discover Hogwarts in a whole new way,” HBO & Max Content chairman and CEO Casey Bloys said in a statement. “Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon and it is clear there is such an enduring love and thirst for the Wizarding World. 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 other programming announcements, HBO Max will bring The Conjuring horror movie franchise to the small screen through a new original series based on storylines from the eight films making up “The Conjuring Universe." The series will be executive produced by The Conjuring films producer Peter Safran, according to the service. The films have collectively grossed more than $2 billon in worldwide box office sales.
HBO Max also released a trailer for its upcoming DC Studios series The Penguin, starring Colin Farrell reprising his role as Batman’s arch enemy from the 2022 The Batman theatrical movie. Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Diedre O’Connell also star in the drama series, which is set to debut in 2024.
