“Harry Potter” is making a jump from the big screen to the little screen in a straight-to-streaming television series deal, Warner Bros. Discovery announced on Wednesday in a press release.
“‘Harry Potter’ is a cultural phenomenon and it is clear there is such an enduring love and thirst for the wizarding world,” said Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content, in the release. “[T]his new Max Original series will dive deep into each of the iconic books that fans have continued to enjoy for all of these years.”
The 10-year-long series will serve as a “faithful adaptation” of the beloved book series by J.K Rowling, which has sold 600 million copies worldwide, according to children’s bookseller Scholastic. The show will feature a new cast with the aim of bringing the franchise’s seven original books to life in “a whole new way,” the company said.
The “Harry Potter” TV series marks the latest addition to the sprawling Potterverse, which includes movies, a Broadway show, theme parks, video games and an international touring exhibition.
The various adaptations of the series have proven to be wildly popular. The franchise’s Hogwarts Legacy video game sold 12 million copies, worth $850 million, in the first two weeks after its February launch, according to Warner Bros. Games’ earnings report.
Warner Bros. Discovery launched last year after a merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery Inc. While the its new Max service has also scooped up the “Game of Thrones” franchise to draw in audiences, the company at large has faced challenges recently in getting its content off the ground. In 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery shelved two projects and reduced its headcount 26% across its unscripted, scripted and animated content divisions, Deadline reported.
An official release date for the first season of the “Harry Potter” series has not been announced.
The show will be available on Max in the United States and throughout the world, the company said.
Elizabeth Napolitano is a freelance reporter at CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and technology news. She also writes for CoinDesk. Before joining CBS, she interned at NBC News’ BizTech Unit and worked on The Associated Press’ web scraping team.
The actors who were cast for the lead roles in the upcoming “Harry Potter” series were revealed Tuesday. Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout will play Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, respectively, HBO announced.
The three actors will be the new faces of the young wizards who first cast a spell over readers around the world nearly 30 years ago with the release of J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” in 1997.
The upcoming streaming series on HBO Max follows the seven popular books, each of which were turned into movies starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint.
A separate series of “Fantastic Beasts” prequels starring Eddie Redmayne debuted in 2016 exploring the wizarding world before “Harry Potter,” and the play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” is being performed in the U.S., Europe and Tokyo.
From left, “Harry Potter” actors Arabella Stanton, Dominic McLaughlin and Alastair Stout are seen in a picture provided by HBO on May 27, 2025.
Courtesy of Aidan Monaghan/HBO
Over 30,000 children auditioned in an open casting call for the newly cast roles, according to CBS News partner network BBC News.
“The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen,” showrunner Francesca Gardiner and executive producer Mark Mylod said in a statement. “We would like to thank all the tens of thousands of children who auditioned. It’s been a real pleasure to discover the plethora of young talent out there.”
HBO has said the series will be a “faithful adaptation” of the books that will span a decade.
BBC News reported McLaughlin will be in the U.K. family comedy movie “Grow” later this year, as well as a BBC action-adventure series, and Stanton portrayed the titular character in “Matilda The Musical” in London.
Last month, actor John Lithgow, who won an Emmy for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in “The Crown,” was cast as Albus Dumbledore.
“Harry Potter” could be on HBO Max as early as 2026, according to BBC News.
Alex Sundby is a senior editor at CBSNews.com. In addition to editing content, Alex also covers breaking news, writing about crime and severe weather as well as everything from multistate lottery jackpots to the July Fourth hot dog eating contest.
Universal Orlando Resort is opening the gates to its Universal Epic Universe theme park on Thursday, just in time for Memorial Day weekend.
The fourth addition to Universal Orlando’s Florida portfolio, Epic Universe will open to the public on May 22, immersing visitors in the worlds of Harry Potter, Super Mario, “How to Train Your Dragon” and other beloved franchises. Located southwest of downtown Orlando, Epic Universe is the first major theme park to open in Florida in more than 25 years and is expected to ramp up competition with Walt Disney World Resort, a fixture in Orlando, Florida, since 1971 when it first opened.
“Is Epic Universe going to put Disney out of business? Absolutely not,” said Dennis Speigel, founder and CEO of consulting firm International Theme Park Services. “Is it going to put a chink in their armor? Yeah.”
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter’s Ministry of Magic area at the new Epic Universe in Orlando, Florida.
Thomas Simonetti/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Though official figures have not been released, Speigel estimates that bringing Epic Universe to life cost NBCUniversal parent company $7.7 billion. Comcast posted $8.6 billion in revenue for its theme park segment in 2024, according to a regulatory filing.
Universal Orlando did not respond to CBS MoneyWatch’s request for comment.
Guests walk past the entrance to Donkey Kong Country in the Super Nintendo World area at a pre-opening event at the Epic Universe theme park in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday, April 5, 2025.
Thomas Simonetti/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Celestial Park, the “cosmic heart” of the new Epic Universe, according to the website, features “lush greenery, tree-lined walkways and dancing fountains.”
Epic Universe is expected to be a boon for the local economy in Orlando, which is known as The Amusement Capital of the World, with deep roots in the tourism industry. In 2024, the amusement park hub welcomed over 75 million visitors, according to Visit Orlando, a trade association.Casandra Matej, president and CEO of Visit Orlando called the opening of Epic Universe an “important milestone” for the Orlando community.
Universal Orlando has not released details about the capacity of the park, but Speigel estimates Epic Universe can accommodate roughly 45,000 to 50,000 people per day. He estimates the new park will draw at least 6 million visitors a year, and possibly more, especially if U.S. economic growth remains solid consumer concerns about tariffs abates.
“The park actually has the physical capacity to draw at least 8 million people,” Speigel told CBS MoneyWatch.
However, other factors could affect those numbers. A new survey from Bankrate shows that over half of Americans expect to spend less on travel, dining out or entertainment this year.
Here’s a look inside Universal Orlando’s newest theme park.
Inside Epic Universe
Visitors to the Orlando destination will have the opportunity to visit five different “immersive worlds,” each with their own special themed restaurants, rides and entertainment:
CelestialPark. The first world guests will enter and the gateway to other sections of the park, Universal Orlando calls Celestial the “heart of Universal Epic Universe.”
Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic. Set in 1920s Paris, the wand-waving world merges details from the “Fantastic Beasts” films and the “Harry Potter” film series. The park builds on two other Harry Potter attractions offered by Universal: Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida, and Hogsmeade at Universal Islands of Adventure.
Super Nintendo World. From the moment they make their way through green warp pipe, visitors will be met with numerous sights, sounds and characters of the Nintendo video game. While there, they can also take part in a Mario Kart race, a ride that offers augmented reality headsets.
How to Train Your Dragon – Isle ofBerk. This “rugged, rocky world” inhabited by vikings and dragons is modeled after the DreamWorks movie series.
Dark Universe. Described on the Universal site as the“most mysterious world” of the Epic Universe, Dark Universe will immerse guests in the storylines of Dracula, the Wolf Man, Frankenstein and other spooky creatures.
A couple walks through the “Dark Universe” world at Epic Universe.
Universal Orlando
How To Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk is based on the popular DreamWorks animated movie.
Adrian Ruhi/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
The grand atrium of Harry Potter’s British Ministry of Magic is re-created in the queue for the Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry attraction at Universal Epic Universe.
Adrian Ruhi/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Prices and hours
Ticket prices for the new theme park start at $139 for adults and $134 for kids before tax. Prices can vary depending on the day, the Universal Orlando website notes.
Theme park hours are somewhere between 9 a.m.-10 p.m. EST, according to the site, but fluctuate daily, so visitors should check ahead when planning.
Mary Cunningham is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch. Before joining the business and finance vertical, she worked at “60 Minutes,” CBSNews.com and CBS News 24/7 as part of the CBS News Associate Program.
Harry Potter and Monty Python and the Holy Grail actor John Cleese suggested in a now-deleted post on social media, that White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller be suspended by his neck over comments made regarding habeas corpus.
“I see Stephen Miller says he is actively thinking about suspending ‘habeas corpus,’” Cleese wrote in a now-deleted post on X. “As this has been the keystone of the Rule of Law for centuries, I’d like to suggest that we actively think about suspending Stephen Miller… Preferably by the neck.”
Cleese’s post comes as reports have surfaced that the Trump administration is thinking of suspending habeas corpus.
Per, ABC27 News, “habeas corpus is Latin for ‘that you have the body.’”
According to the Cornell University School of Law, habeas corpus is Latin for “that you have the body.” Cornell says in the United States, federal courts can use habeas corpus to determine if a state’s prisoner detention is valid. The writ, or order, of habeas corpus is used to “bring a prisoner or other detainee (such as an institutionalized mental patient or illegal immigrant) before the court to determine if the person’s imprisonment or detention is lawful.”
When asked by a reporter about how President Donald Trump had talked “about potentially suspending habeas corpus to take care of the illegal immigration problem,” Miller explained that “the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in time of invasion,” according to ABC News.
“The Constitution is clear, and that, of course, is the supreme law of the law, that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in time of invasion,” Miller said.
Miller also added that suspending habeas corpus was “an option” the Trump administration is “actively looking at.”
