HBO boss says there are no plans to turn the Harry Potter universe into "a DC or a Marvel"

HBO boss Casey Bloys has said that the new Harry Potter TV show won't spawn countless spin-offs like either of the major superhero universes.

"The idea is not to turn it into a DC or a Marvel," Bloys told Radio Times. "The idea is to go in and do the books." This implies that there are no prequels or spin-offs on the way in the vein of the Fantastic Beasts movies.

"There will be things in the show that were not in the movie… but are not off-canon," he added. "The opportunity is to spend more time with the books."

Bloys has previously said that each season of the TV show will adapt each of the novels, so the eight-episode first season is expected to be around eight hours long. As Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (or the Sorcerer's Stone, if you're in the US) is only 223 pages long, that means that on average the show will have 28 pages of the book to cover per episode. There'll certainly be room for attention to detail.

While new seasons won't be released on an annual basis, Bloys doesn't want there to be a "huge gap" between installments. "It's not going to be an annual; the show is too big and too massive. But… they're writing the season 2 now," he said in another recent interview.

Dominic McLaughlin will play Harry Potter in the new series, with Arabella Stanton and Alistair Stout joining him as Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. They take over from Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, who played the trio in the movies.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone will premiere on December 25 on HBO and HBO Max. In the meantime, get up to speed with our guide to the other new TV shows on the way in 2026.