Even though television has been around for a long time, one major problem that has been consistent for shows with younger casts is the fact that those kiddos can go through growth spurts pretty quickly. If not a lot of time passes on the show but does pass in real life, shows have run into problems. For example, by the time Stranger Things’ fifth and final season comes out, it will have taken Netflix nearly 10 years to get out five seasons, but on the series, not many years have flown by. Fans have already expressed concerns with the aging of the young cast, who are now in their early twenties or late-teens. Now HBO’s new Harry Potter series could have the same problems. The good news? They already have an idea.
It was announced in 2023 that Max had ordered a new Harry Potter TV show following in the footsteps of one of the most successful film franchises of all time. The show had an open casting call for the roles of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, looking for kids between the ages of 9 and 11 years old.
Here's the rub, though: Considering it’s become common practice for most streamers to release seasons a much longer time apart than network TV, that means the child actors will presumably growing quite a lot during the hiatuses. Particularly for a big budget behemoth like Potter, which presumably won't be a simple show to film. Luckily, HBO chairman and CEO Casey Bloys told reporters at a press conference there is already a plan in place to keep the consistency (via TVLine):
It is something we’re thinking about. One of the ideas we talked about was shooting the first season and the second season very close to each other time-wise because 11 to 13 is a big jump in kids’ lives. You can get away with 13 to 15, something like that. So we’re going to have to think about scheduling and shooting so that they don’t grow too much between seasons. It is a consideration.
When the Harry Potter series was initially announced, the show was given a 10-year commitment. That does make it a bit easier to plan around the kids and shooting seasons back-to-back when needed. Even though a multi-season or multi-year order doesn’t always mean filming will happen back-to-back, Harry Potter is certainly a uniquely challenging case. As noted, though, it sounds like the company is much concerned about the first few years since as the kids hit puberty.
While the upcoming TV schedule could always change, HBO does sound like it has a pretty good plan. To note, that doesn’t mean that seasons will be releasing back-to-back so fans will probably still have to wait a while for episodes since Bloys also said an “annual schedule will be tough, but it depends on how much is written ahead of time.” It will just depend, but for now, back-to-back filming will be the priority.
Regardless of how the aging will work for the Harry Potter series, it should be entertaining to see what the show is all about. As of now, a set plot has yet to be announced, but stories from each of J.K. Rowling's seven books will be adapted.
A premiere date for the Harry Potter series has yet to be announced, but the wait will hopefully be worth it. Filming is expected to kick off next year, and it’s likely more information will be coming down the pipeline. For now, all eight Harry Potter films plus Fantastic Beasts are streaming with a Peacock subscription.
