Yer a TV series, Harry. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone—no pandering to Americans with that Sorcerer business this time!—is coming to a streaming service near you this Christmas. We just got our first look at the upcoming television adaptation of the Harry Potter book series by controversial author J.K. Rowling, and there’s so much to say…
Rumors have been floating around about an HP series since January 2021 and were confirmed by HBO Max in 2023. “Your Hogwarts letter is here,” the streaming service tweeted on April 12. “Max has ordered the first ever #HarryPotter scripted television series, a faithful adaptation of the iconic books.”
So what, exactly, does a “faithful adaptation” look like? Here’s everything we know so far.
The teaser is more moody than magical…
In March 2026, HBO Max dropped the first teaser for the adaptation, giving us a peek at Hogwarts, its faculty, and most of our main youngster cohort. The teaser leans into an exciting, if ominous, tone, emphasizing realism, maybe even…grittiness?
We get to see a few scenes that were in the books but not the movies, like Harry being bullied at school and getting a haircut. We also see Harry and Hagrid riding the Tube, which isn’t in the first movie (but was actually filmed, if you want to watch the deleted scene). From the costumes, we can see that this is period-accurate to 1991, and other details bring the story to life…
But there isn’t much magic! Well, it’s a long time until Christmas; they’re probably saving that for future trailers.