HBO has a Harry Potter show coming out in 2026, and it is shaping up nicely, but one Harry Potter star pointed out the potential problems with the remake. The Harry Potter reboot comes after Warner Bros.’ incredibly successful movie series, beginning in 2001 with the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone movie and ending in 2011 with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. The upcoming TV show has big boots to fill, with the resounding impact of the movies behind it and a point to prove.

The HBO Harry Potter TV show will have to prove its reason for existing in its first season, which may be a challenge when J.K. Rowling’s stories were told so well by the movies. Directed by Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuarón, Mike Newell, and David Yates, this eight-movie series adapted the last Potter novel in two parts, to allow for a lengthier exploration of events. The Harry Potter TV show, which began casting in September, is expected to run for at least seven seasons, faithfully reflecting roughly one book per season. But it will have to do more than that to succeed, as Fiona Shaw highlighted in recent comments.

Fiona Shaw’s Harry Potter Comments Highlight The Problem With HBO’s Remake

Fiona Shaw Voiced The Concern That Many Have About The Harry Potter Show

Petunia Dursley actress Fiona Shaw commented on the upcoming Harry Potter remake and speculated on its purpose, vocalizing the question that many have and underlining a key issue with the show. Speaking to People about the HBO remake, Shaw said “I wish them well. I mean, can stories be retold? They must be retold over time. It seems to me no time [has passed] since we told it, but maybe it’s [for] a whole new generation.” Shaw spoke for many when she wondered out loud whether it was too soon for a remake.

Like the movies, the TV show will be based on J.K. Rowling’s seven-book series, published between 1997 and 2007. Despite some key changes, the movies followed the books reasonably closely and are fairly well-regarded. So, there is no cause to reboot Harry Potter based on failure on the movies’ part. It is too soon after the movies were made for the production quality to appear seriously dated, so the franchise isn’t calling out for modern technology. The movies’ main themes are timeless, so it is, at first glance, hard to imagine what a new generation requires from a rebooted Harry Potter.

The Upcoming Harry Potter TV Show Must Juggle Multiple Audiences

The HBO Show Must Impress New And Old Fans

The Harry Potter TV remake faces a challenge that the movies didn’t – it must juggle multiple audiences. HBO is clearly seeking to engage a nostalgic generation of millennials and capture their viewership with its Harry Potter TV reboot. Bids for nostalgia can be transparent, so this appeal will have to be meaningful, rather than hollow. This will mean that it must bring something new to the table, otherwise, this audience will switch off quickly. Meanwhile, it can’t step too far from the books and movies in terms of narrative, else it will ignite controversy and likewise, lose this audience quickly.

The new Harry Potter has an in for Zoomer loyalty but must grab their attention.

Meanwhile, HBO is targeting a new audience. Generation Z did not grow up with Harry Potter the way that millennials did. And yet, their online habits dictate a lot of the trends and sales that occur in the media, film, and TV, since they have a massive online presence. Harry Potter is huge enough, as a franchise, to affect Zoomers, regardless of whether they grew up with Harry Potter. It is tattooed across merchandise the Western world over, from pencil cases and phone covers to T-shirts. The new Harry Potter has an in for Zoomer loyalty but must grab their attention.

How HBO Can Modernize Harry Potter & Make Its Remake Worthwhile

HBO Can Bring New Meaning To Harry Potter

There are a few ways to ensure that the Harry Potter remake has meaning and can reach multiple audiences, rather than being a cheap appeal to nostalgia or a clunky misfire. Firstly, the remake can address the criticism surrounding the movies and books regarding diversity. A frequent complaint about the story is its lack of racial representation or representation of the LGBTQI+ spectrum. The main cast of the movies is all white, although Harry Potter and the Cursed Child addressed this. Minority figures, like Cho Chang, didn’t receive the best writing in the script.

Albus Dumbledore can be actually gay in the Harry Potter show, as opposed to being a mystery on-screen but described as gay by Rowling in an interview.

While the writing of Chang appeared a little one-dimensional in the movies, the Harry Potter TV series has the chance to dive deep into her and other characters. Having multiple seasons to breathe into J.K. Rowling’s story, HBO can finally do justice to Chang and Lavender Brown, who was whitewashed by the movies in her recasting. Perhaps most excitingly, Albus Dumbledore can be actually gay in the Harry Potter show, as opposed to being a mystery on-screen but described as gay by Rowling in an interview.

All eight Harry Potter movies can be streamed on Peacock in the U.S.

The Harry Potter show can also tackle the points of the movies that were unfaithful to the books, improving the franchise’s faithfulness to Rowling’s brilliant story. Sirius Black and Harry’s relationship suffered a serious diminishment in the movies, which should be corrected. But the most important way for the HBO show to set itself apart is to modernize the stories on-screen and give them a whole new relevance. For instance, Lavender and Ron’s love potion arc in Harry Potter could be transformed into a consent parable, without decreasing faithfulness. There is much hope for the Harry Potter TV show, despite valid concerns.