HBO and Max CEO Casey Bloys announced that the upcoming ‘Harry Potter‘ TV series is “in no way influenced” by author J.K. Rowling’s anti-transgender views, despite her involvement as a producer in the development process.
“She’s been fairly involved—she was very involved in the process of selecting the writer and the director,” Bloys told reporters at HBO’s 2025 preview presentation. “I imagine she’ll have opinions on casting. It hasn’t affected the casting or hiring of writers or production staff or anything, so we haven’t felt any impact from that.”
Bloys also hinted at a potential premiere date in early 2027, though he added, “But don’t hold me to any of that, because we’re just getting started with the writing and casting process.”
One challenge the TV adaptation faces is managing the age progression of the young actors. “One of the ideas we talked about was shooting the first season and the second season very close to each other, time-wise, because kids, from 11 to 13, change a lot,” Bloys explained. “You can get away with 13 to 15, something like that. So we are going to have to think about scheduling and shooting to ensure they don’t grow too much between seasons. It’s a consideration.”
Rowling has previously expressed negative views about trans people, sharing controversial tweets that many consider transphobic. Her comments have been publicly criticized by actors including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Eddie Redmayne, while Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes have defended her.
HBO launched an open casting call to fill the main roles of Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger, calling on children between the ages of nine and 11 who are residents of the U.K. or Ireland. The casting call wanted a commitment to “inclusive, diverse casting” without “regard to ethnicity, sex, disability, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other basis protected by law unless otherwise specifically indicated.
