Kamal Ghorui
Get ready to head back to Hogwarts. HBO’s new ‘Harry Potter’ series lands this Christmas 2026, and they’re doing things differently: each of J.K. Rowling’s seven books gets its own season. So, ‘Philosopher’s Stone’, ‘Chamber of Secrets’, all the way to ‘Deathly Hallows’ are back, but in a bigger, longer format.
Dominic McLaughlin steps into Harry’s shoes. You probably don’t know him yet, as he’s pretty new to the scene. Per Variety, he played in Sky’s comedy ‘Grow’ alongside his soon-to-be Hagrid, Nick Frost. Arabella Stanton takes on Hermione, and she was Matilda on the West End stage, so she’s got that classic book-smart energy. Alastair Stout is embodying Ron, and, honestly, this is his first real gig. These are fresh faces, and HBO went big: there were 32,000 auditioning kids for Harry’s role. Mark Mylod and his casting team sifted through hundreds of tapes every single day.
John Lithgow, who already is a legend, plays Professor Dumbledore. Paapa Essiedu is Snape. Janet McTeer is Professor McGonagall. Nick Frost brings Hagrid to life. Bel Powley and Daniel Rigby are Harry’s awful Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon.
Looking at Season 1, Paul Whitehouse takes the cranky caretaker Argus Filch, Luke Thallon is Professor Quirrell, Katherine Parkinson becomes Molly Weasley, Lox Pratt plays Draco Malfoy, and Johnny Flynn is Lucius Malfoy.
Francesca Gardiner heads up the writing and executive producing; she’s running the show. Mark Mylod is directing and executive producing, teaming up with Brontë Film and TV and Warner Bros. Rowling herself is involved as an executive producer, along with Neil Blair, Ruth Kenley-Letts, and David Heyman from Heyday Films.
Here, let’s unpack the full cast and learn about who’s playing who.
