Harry Potter TV bosses insist new present shall be ‘streaming occasion of the last decade’ as JK Rowling trans row rages on

The upcoming Harry Potter TV show has been described as the ‘steaming event of the decade’ – despite the ongoing controversy surrounding JK Rowling’s comments about transgender people.

With an expected release date of 2027, JB Perrette, CEO and president of global streaming & games at Warner Brothers reiterated his excitement at an event in London on Monday.   

He said: ‘[Harry Potter is] the biggest streaming event in the history of HBO Max and arguably in streaming, period. It’s number one, two and three in many ways.

‘We can’t wait for this global streaming event.’ 

HBO’s Harry Potter will be split into seven seasons, which will bring to life the seven parts of the boy wizard’s story – originally told in JK Rowling‘s bestselling children’s novels. She will serve as executive producer on the new series. 

New parts of Harry Potter’s story will be dramatised for the first time thanks to the longer length of the TV show compared to the existing films. It aims to be ‘authentic to the original books’.  

The upcoming Harry Potter TV show was described as the ‘steaming event of the decade’ by the CEO of Warner Brothers at an event on Monday 

The production has been dogged with controversy because of JK Rowling’s comments about transgender people

New parts of Harry Potter’s story will be dramatised for the first time thanks to the longer length of the TV show compared to the existing films (pictured here is a shot from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, released in 2002) 

HBO’s CEO went on to emphasise the production company’s commitment to quality and said that its upcoming creations are some of the best it has ever produced. 

He said: ‘Nothing says quality like those three letters. We’re a complementary and distinct service to the more volume-driven or basic cable-like streamers in the market. 

‘More is not better. Better is better. And our content slate over the next 24 months is the strongest and most targeted for our audiences in our history.’  

The upcoming TV adaptation will star several well-known faces including John Lithgow, who will play Professor Albus Dumbledore, and Nick Frost, who is stepping into Rubeus Hagrid’s very large shoes. 

It is hoped that the series will introduce a new generation of young people to Harry Potter, which famously encouraged children to read thanks to the huge success of JK Rowling’s original books. 

The new adaptation will also provide a new springboard for young acting talent, as the original Warner Brothers films did, and Harry Potter himself will be played by Scottish actor Dominic McLaughlin, 11. 

The comments about the new series come after John Lithgow’s non-binary co-star Aud Mason-Hyde has branded his casting in the upcoming Harry Potter series ‘hurtful and difficult’. 

The upcoming TV adaptation will star several well-known faces including John Lithgow, who will play Professor Albus Dumbledore, and Nick Frost, who is stepping into Rubeus Hagrid’s very large shoes

The comments about the new series come after Lithgow’s non-binary co-star Aud Mason-Hyde (L) has branded his casting in the upcoming Harry Potter series ‘hurtful and difficult’

The franchise has been plagued with controversy due to creator JK’s resounding opposition to transgender rights, which first came to light in 2019, after which she was branded a TERF [trans exclusionary radical feminist]. 

While Aud, who stars alongside John and Olivia Colman in 2025 movie Jimpa, conceded that the actor is ‘a beautiful human’, they branded his casting ‘disconcerting, difficult and hurtful’.

Their comments come in the wake of John speaking out about criticism over his role, saying: ‘It upsets me when people are vehemently opposed to me having anything to do with this. But in Potter canon you see no trace of transphobic sensitivity.’

Aud plays Olivia’s character Hannah’s non-binary child Frances, while John plays Hannah’s father Jim, known as Jimpa, who they visit in Amsterdam. The film premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in January 2025. 

In the wake of the announcement of his casting, John revealed that a friend with a trans child sent him a link to an article entitled: ‘An open letter to John Lithgow: Please walk away from Harry Potter’ – something he admitted made him feel ‘uncomfortable’.

Now, despite speaking fondly of their co-star, Aud has hit out at their co-star and voiced disappointment over his decision to take the part.

In the wake of the announcement of his casting, John revealed that a friend with a trans child sent him a link to an article entitled: ‘An open letter to John Lithgow: Please walk away from Harry Potter’ – something he admitted made him feel ‘uncomfortable’

John – pictured here as Albus Dumbledore in a behind the scenes image – spoke at the Rotterdam Film Festival last week about his feelings toward naysayers and said JK Rowling is ‘not really involved’  in the new TV series

They said: ‘He is such an incredibly talented actor, but also such a beautiful human to make work with, and that was my experience with John. I never felt invalidated or questioned or doubted in my identity or in my transness by him…. 

‘I consistently felt that he was a very loving and a very guiding co-star. And so there’s an element of this that feels vaguely hurtful…

‘But also I think that he’s making this decision after we had made the film and after we had premiered the film, can’t take away from what we had and the time that we spent together and the beautiful work that he does in this movie and actually how incredibly authentically he played the role… ‘

In the wake of criticism and in anticipation of more, John spoke at the Rotterdam Film Festival last week about his feelings toward naysayers.

He said: ‘I take the subject extremely seriously. JK Rowling has created this amazing canon for young people, young kids’ literature that has jumped into the consciousness of society…

‘Young and old people love Harry Potter and the Harry Potter stories. It’s so much about acceptance. It’s about good versus evil. It’s about kindness versus cruelty….

‘It’s deeply felt. I find it ironic and somewhat inexplicable that Rowling has expressed such views. I’ve read about them, and I’ve never met her…

‘She’s not really involved in this production at all. The people who are re-adapting Harry Potter and turning it into an eight-year-long TV series are remarkable. These are people I really want to work with.’