Warner Bros. recently announced their plan to create a Harry Potter streaming series for HBO Max and the news has sent Potterheads into a frenzy.
The idea is to dedicate one season to each of the books so that the stories can be covered in greater detail. This would subsequently allow the creators to show parts of the books that weren’t initially covered in the movies.
However, on comparing the pros and cons of such a decision, it looks like the cons outweigh the pros by quite a large margin.
The Harry Potter TV series is a terrible idea because it’s attempting to revamp a franchise by portraying the exact same stories that were already told twice. Both previous attempts were immensely successful, but trying for the third time sounds lazy and pointless.
Here are seven reasons why I think the Harry Potter television series is not a good idea.
1. Ambitious Outlook
By announcing a Harry Potter TV series, Warner Bros. has taken on an ambitious project requiring 7 seasons that could span a decade, before production has even begun.
There’s no way to tell how the finished product will look or how well the series will be received so there’s a good chance it may never even reach the point it’s aiming for.
An example of a similar scenario is the Lord of the Rings spin-off series, The Rings of Power. Amazon spent a huge amount on its production and committed to five whole seasons, only for it to be deemed mediocre and not being as impactful as they hoped it would be.
If HBO is going to invest in a Harry Potter project, there’s going to be a lot of pressure to meet the high standards that the original movies have set. So if the show fails, it’ll seem like they’ve bitten off more than they can chew.
2. Convenient Way to Ensure Success
It’s no secret that the Harry Potter TV series is a massive cash grab. By latching onto the success of the books and movies, Warner Bros. has found an easy way to ensure a large viewership.
Whether you’re in support of the reboot series or not, you’re most definitely going to be curious enough to give it a watch.
It’s a calculated attempt on WB’s part to take advantage of the enormous Harry Potter fandom. They know how profitable the brand is and so they will keep making money off of it.
3. Too Early for a Reboot
Within a span of about 20 years, we’ve gotten 7 Harry Potter novels and 8 movies all based on the same characters, which is more than enough media to consume over this time period. Now just 12 years since the last movie, WB wants to reboot the franchise with a TV series.
A reboot works when you’re bringing back a show or movie after a few decades at least. But right now, it’s way too soon to do that.
It’s also confusing as to who the audience is supposed to be because the people that grew up with the franchise have pretty much moved past it, while younger audiences are still too young to appreciate it.
It would make much more sense to push the HP series to about a decade or two from now in order to introduce a whole other generation to the magical wizarding world we all love, instead of trying to cater to the nostalgia of an older audience.
4. Controversy surrounding JK Rowling
JK Rowling created a name for herself with her legendary Harry Potter novels. But her controversial transphobic remarks led to the demise of her reputation and legacy, and most fans of her work prefer to separate her from it.
Rowling has already been credited as an executive producer so knowing that she’s definitely going to profit off of the Harry Potter series makes it harder to support such a project.
Some might argue that it’d be unfair if she wasn’t profiting off a franchise that she created entirely on her own, but giving her more opportunities to earn money prevents her from suffering any real consequences for her actions.
We’re indirectly funding a harmful cause.
5. Attempting to Erase Existing Flaws
As fantastical as the Harry Potter movie series may be, they’ve also got a lot of problems with regards to representation of certain characters and their storylines.
One of the issues Potterheads have is with the handling of Ginny and Harry’s story as well as the disappointing adaptation of Ginny’s character from the books to the movies. With the new series, it gives them a second chance to do it right.
However, the bigger issue lies in the stereotypical representation of characters such as Seamus Finnigan, Cho Chang, and Padma and Parvati Patil.
Overall, the Harry Potter TV series is a good opportunity to rectify the mistakes that were made earlier. But do we really need a modern-day remake to get the representation right? I’d say no; there are plenty of other movies and TV shows that are far more inclusive that I’d rather watch.
The damage has already been done and there’s no point in trying to “fix” anything now. Instead, the focus should be on creating new and better-developed characters.
Not to mention, if JK Rowling herself is going to be playing a major role in creating the Harry Potter series, I’m not very hopeful of how inclusive it will actually be.
6. New Cast has Big Shoes to Fill
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint are engraved in our brains as the only Harry, Hermione and Ron we know.
Once the new cast for the same Harry Potter characters is announced, they will constantly be compared to the original trio and there’s going to be a lot of pressure on them to excel in their respective roles.
Not only the child actors, but also the senior ones like Alan Rickman as Snape, Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid, Maggie Smith as McGonangall, Michael Gambon as Dumbledore and Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort played their characters extremely well and are the biggest reasons for the franchise’s success.
None of us can really picture these iconic characters being played by anyone else, whoever they may be. The idea that WB wants to replace all these actors has already caused them to lose a large chunk of their audience.
7. Other Ways to Expand the Franchise
The Harry Potter Universe extends way beyond just the main novels and movies. There’s so much wizarding history that could be covered through the Harry Potter TV series instead, something that hasn’t already been done before.
Many fans would be open to learning more about Harry’s parents, or Snape’s backstory or really any adult character that didn’t get enough screen time in the movies to showcase the full potential of their powers.
The recent release of the game, Hogwarts Legacy, featuring brand new characters, also opens up a wide range of possibilities for future Harry Potter projects.
All these alternative suggestions for a TV series would give the writers a way to have more queer and minority representation as well, without feeling the pressure to undo any past damage.
Now I’ve obviously not forgotten about the tragedy that was the Fantastic Beasts series. But I think if Warner Bros. could learn from those mistakes, they could definitely come out with some great pieces of work that would keep the Harry Potter fandom alive.
It’s just disappointing that of all the ideas that they could come up with, this Harry Potter series was the one they settled on.
8. About Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a film series based on the eponymous novel series by J. K. Rowling. The series is distributed by Warner Bros. and consists of eight fantasy films, beginning with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and culminating with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
The film series follows Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, and his journey to take down the evil wizard Lord Voldemort and save Hogwarts, the Wizarding School he attended, with his best friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.
The series was mainly produced by David Heyman, and stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson as the three leading characters: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger.
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