HBO Max casts Hannah Chinn and Jasper Talbot as Harry Potter's parents

Casting announcement

HBO Max has added three actors to the first season of its Harry Potter series, and the announcement was posted on Monday, 26 October. Jasper Talbot will play James Potter, Hannah Chinn will play Lily Potter, and Harry Gilby takes the role of Charlie Weasley, the second eldest son of Molly and Arthur Weasley. The Potter parents are killed by Lord Voldemort before the main story begins, and Lily gives her life to protect their infant son. In the films the parents appeared only in flashbacks, photographs and magical visions, while Charlie, who works with dragons in Romania, was absent altogether despite a supporting role in the novels.

“The magical family is growing.”

Premiere and episode schedule

The first season adapts Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first novel in J.K. Rowling's series, and the first episode is set for 25 December. The published schedule lists eight episodes, starting on 25 December and ending on 14 February 2027. The series is a co-production of HBO with Brontë Film and TV and Warner Bros. Television, and episodes will also be available on HBO Max. The schedule chart below shows the release date of each episode. The original films ran from 2001 to 2011, and the series aims to offer a more faithful adaptation of the books along with a wider view of the wizarding world.

Cast and crew

Dominic McLaughlin plays Harry Potter, with Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley. The cast also includes John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid and Lox Pratt as Draco Malfoy. Francesca Gardiner wrote the series and serves as its showrunner. Mark Mylod is an executive producer who also directs several episodes. Rowling is among the executive producers, alongside Neil Blair and Ruth Kenley-Letts of Brontë Film and TV, David Heyman of Heyday Films, and Laura Neal and Jon Brown.

Budget and second season

A report in The Times put the budget for the first season at around $200 million, produced with Warner Bros. HBO has already greenlit a second season based on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Filming of that second season has reportedly begun at Leavesden Studios, outside London. Jon Brown, a writer on Succession, has joined the team, and he previously worked on HBO fiction with Gardiner. From the second season onward the series is aiming for a darker, more adult and sophisticated tone, according to La Razón's reporting.