First trailer for HBO's new Harry Potter TV series looks familiar, but feels nothing like the films, and that's a good thing

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Official Teaser | HBO Max - YouTube

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The first HBO Harry Potter trailer is here, and it's nothing like the beloved film franchise... and we promise that's a good thing.

In the trailer, which you can watch above, we meet a sad, bullied Harry Potter who gets his hair crudely chopped off by Petunia Dursley... and it looks like, rather than jump right into his adventures at Hogwarts, we're going to spend a bit more time in his hellish existence in the muggle realm at the hands of his aunt and uncle and their terrible child Dudley. The most striking thing may just be that the TV series doesn't seem to have the outwardly fantastical, dark, Tim Burton-y vibe as the film franchise. There is no choir of children singing "Something Wicked This Way Comes," or a Halloween-y flair to the interior of Hogwarts. The emphasis, at least in the trailer, seems to be on Harry's growth and emotional journey... which is an intriguing take, nonetheless.

Dominic McLaughlin dons the famous round spectacles as Harry Potter this time around, with Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, John Lithgow as Dumbledore, Nick Frost as Hagrid, Paapa Essiedu as Snape, and Janet McTeer as McGonagall.

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The plan is for each season to cover one of the seven books, with the show set to run for over a decade. Though don't expect one season a year.

"You have to balance it. For some of the bigger shows like Harry Potter or House of the Dragon, or The Last of Us, huge world-building shows, it would be nice to have those on an annual basis. But from a production point of view, it’s just not possible," HBO boss Casey Bloys recently told The Hollywood Reporter.

"It’s not that everybody involved is just taking their time and sitting around," he continued. "These shows are complicated to do. In order to bring a show back on an annual basis, you do have to start from the beginning with people who know how to do it, people like [The Pitt executive producer] John Wells or Greg Berlanti, and it's helpful if there are not dragons that need to be rendered, or zombies and things like that."

The Harry Potter TV show arrives Christmas 2026. In the meantime, keep up to date with our guide to all the most exciting upcoming TV shows.