It’s an exciting day for Harry Potter fans. With a new reboot series set to finally release more details this year, as production is set to kick off this summer, fans have a new replacement series to look forward to.
In November 2024, Harry Potter introduced a new game series, Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking, in collaboration with Food Network. The franchise has previously held another contest series, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses, which aired on TBS and Cartoon Network in 2021. Following the release of Wizards of Baking and its success on Max, Deadline reports Food Network has officially renewed the series for Season 2.
Wizards of Baking welcomed some of the most qualified bakers around the world to test their skills when it comes to magical creations. All the contestants had to create “fantastical edible creations” that also highlighted their “legendary storytelling” skills, and the bakers would have a specific number of hours to recreate magical props or moments from Harry Potter.
The series had James and Oliver Phelps as hosts, famous for bringing the beloved Weasley twins Fred and George to life in the eight Harry Potter films. The two were far from the only magical names, as the series introduced several special guests, including Warwick Davis (Professor Flitwick), Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), and Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley). Culinary judges Carla Hall and Jozef Youssef were in charge of judging both the flavors and the creativity of the cakes.
Wizards of Baking Season 1 was a major hit for Warner Bros. Discovery. It ranked as the number one title that was not news or sports on Thursday nights for audiences aged 25-54, and its premiere episode had a 0.57 rating. Warner Bros. Discovery also added that it reached more than 16.4 million viewers across its platforms, Max and Discovery+.
Wizards of Baking was shot at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, the same magical place where the eight Harry Potter films were produced. This allowed bakers to have a deeper inspiration for their culinary creations as they stepped on the actual film sets, as the studio is also a tourist attraction, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, allowing fans to discover the hard work behind the magic on the big screen. The upcoming reboot series will also be filmed at Leavesden.
The Upcoming Harry Potter Reboot Will Start Filming This Year
In the fall of 2024, Warner Bros. posted a casting call for the main trio — Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. Showrunner Francesca Gardiner and director Mark Mylod revealed more than 32,000 kids sent audition tapes for the leading roles, which looked for children between the ages of 9 and 11 living in the UK and Ireland.
So far, there have been no official confirmations for any of the three roles or the adult roles. However, the creative team confirmed, this time, the actors will be age-appropriate, compared to the Harry Potter films. With the Harry Potter TV show supposed to start filming in the summer of 2025, new casting details might start popping in any time. Until then, Food Network will keep fans entertained with a new season of Wizards of Baking.
Wizards of Baking is available to stream on Max.