A major new trailer for HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter TV series has landed, offering fans another early glimpse at the ambitious reboot of the beloved wizarding world saga.
All signs point to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone becoming one of the most talked-about releases of 2026. The series is also restoring the book’s original title, after the first film was famously renamed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for U.S. audiences. Even with lingering doubts surrounding the project — including Joanne “J.K.” Rowling’s controversial role and the relatively quick return to Hogwarts just years after the original movie franchise concluded — the promise of fresh screen time in the wizarding world is likely to draw enormous interest from longtime fans and new viewers alike.
That said, the HBO series is not telling an entirely new story. Instead, it is expected to revisit Rowling’s seven-book arc with more space to develop characters, subplots and magical world-building that the films often had to compress. The plan is for each season of the Harry Potter TV show to adapt one novel, a format that could give the franchise room to breathe. Fans may remember that the final installment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was divided into two films released across 2010 and 2011 — a move that helped manage the size of the story while also extending the franchise’s box office run.
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So, what should viewers know before HBO brings Harry, Hermione and Ron back to the screen? From the return to the first book’s roots to the arrival of an all-new cast, these are the key details shaping the next era of the Harry Potter TV series.
The Harry Potter TV show features an all-new cast telling a familiar story
Aidan Monaghan/HBO
If you’re at all familiar with the first book and movie in the Harry Potter franchise, you probably know the basic deal with “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.” Raised by his non-magical (or Muggle) aunt and uncle — who show him nothing but cruelty — young Harry is shocked when, one day, he wakes up to letters welcoming him to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After the school’s groundskeeper Rubeus Hagrid comes to fetch Harry from the Muggle world on the orders of the school’s beloved headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Harry leaves his mundane life with his aunt, uncle, and cousin behind and heads to the magical academy to learn how to wield a wand, make potions, and turn teacups into mice.
So who’s playing all of these characters we know and love? Dominic McLaughlin, a newcomer, steps into the titular role of Harry, taking over from Daniel Radcliffe; he’s flanked by Arabella Stanton and Alistair Stout as his best friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley (played respectively by Emma Watson and Rupert Grint in the film franchise). Nick Frost and John Lithgow will take over as Hagrid and Dumbledore — those character’s original performers, John Coltrane, Richard Harris, and Michael Gambon, the latter two of whom split the role after Harris died in 2002, have all passed away — and the cast is rounded out by luminaries like Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, and Peter Serafinowicz as Hogwarts’ resident poltergeist Peeves, just to name a few.
“Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” premieres on HBO on Christmas Day 2026, and we’ll undoubtedly get more looks at the show before then.