Harry Potter and the Television Possibilities

Last month, rumors started on the possibility of Warner being on the planning stages of a Harry Potter television series. The studio didn't took too long to deny that anything is on production at the moment, but unlike so many baseless internet rumors, there's a possibility that they'll eventually follow this route, if not right now, over the next few years,

The future of big franchises seems to be television. Star Wars has proved this with The Mandalorian, and while some films are still being released over the next few years, most of what is to come for Lucasfilm will be a varied assortment of TV shows. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is following the same mold. Phase 4 has the usual quantity of slated theatrical films, but there's even more series in the works, and the tremendous success of WandaVision means the model is here to stay.

Of course, few studios can be as successful as Disney is, but that doesn't mean the don't try to follow their formulas. Many other film franchises have started shifting towards the home screen, now that the lines between the cinematic and the televised have positively blurred, and Warner itself has gone to produce a Lord of the Rings show, on whose success many decisions will surely depend.

Its no secret Warner hasn't been doing as good as Disney, property-wise. Possibly their biggest asset, DC, has been a mixed bag ever since The Dark Knight trilogy ended. Their Expanded Universe has fallen short and Joker was a success among some audiences, but only by utterly severing its ties to its origins. Their greatest accomplishments on the superhero front have been their -far from cinematic- tv series, though a television Suicide Squad spinoff is on the works (based on the James Gunn film, not the failed Ayer one). To add to the studios' bad streak, their business reaction towards COVID has attracted heavy criticism, even among their own, which has led them to lose the support of their greatest paladin, Christopher Nolan, who is a franchise onto himself.

In short, one of the greatest assets the studio has left is Harry Potter, and it makes sense for them to try and exploit it in new ways, even if their Fantastic Beasts spinoffs haven't done that well financially (though I generally like both of those films more than the Potter movies themselves, Warner's strategy around them has been sloppy).

At this moment, the greatest issue against furthering the Wizarding World franchise is J.K. Rowling herself, due to the controversy she garnered over last year's Tweets. If she's wise -something people rarely are over political issues-, she'll lay low for a while and then apologize about the way she expressed some of her views. Assuming she can wheatear the storm, and Potter is a safe-to-invest-on franchise again, I'd bet Warner will try to make the TV project a reality.

But what would that entail, exactly? There are many paths they could take with this idea, and some make me very excited but others quite nervous. Even after the recent JK controversy, Harry Potter remains one of my favorite things ever. For me, it's more than a read; it's a safe place where I'm deeply invested emotionally. I've gone over these novels over twenty times, and I know more about that story than I probably do about the real world. And I'm not even embarrassed about that.

So here's my take on six possibilities which they could be considering at this very moment:

1- Possibility I'd love

A faithful adaptation of the seven novels:

I think it's very unlikely that Warner wants to remake the story they already made into their popular film series, and it's even more doubtful that, if they do, they'll stick closer to the originals this time around.

Still, ever since I started reading the books, it has always been one of my wildest desires to have them adapted visually in a way that's fully respectful to the canon, and I always thought a series was a much better medium for that than movies. Of course, back then TV had a very different format, which really didn't loan itself to a proper literary adaptation of this scope, but as we know, things have changed a lot, and the current landscape of television would be perfect to do it.

The problem would of course be the vision. Harry Potter is such a personal story for so many of us that I doubt anyone would be able to bring it to life in the way we've dreamed.

PS: I must admit that, back when I was a youngling, the idea of one day adapting Potter properly was one of my first motivations to pursue an audiovisual career, so you'll understand that probably I'll never be satisfied with anything the could make.

2- Possibility I'd loathe

A sequel to the novels / adaptation of The Cursed Child:

The finale to Deathly Hallows is perfect for most of its characters. There's not much you can do to further expand their adventures in a fulfilling way.

One of the best arguments to prove that point is The Cursed Child, the stage play that takes place after Hallow's Epilogue. Now, you know I often try to say only positive things about mostly everything, or that at least I mention their faults without being too abrasive. That said, The Cursed Child is awful. It's terrible. I can't say one single good thing about its script, sorry.

I know the production tried to pretend otherwise, but there's simply no way the play is canon. I also have my very strong doubts that Rowling really did contribute much to it, other than maybe approving the idea and receiving a paycheck, and that her supposed involvement on it was just a publicity stunt.

The fact is that the script doesn't feature her distinctive writing style, and there are countless contradictions to plotlines and themes that were very important to her in the books, so I'm pretty sure it was created almost exclusively by Thorne and Tiffany. It could be argued that her style and quality have changed over the years, except that the five Strike/Ellacott novels released since Potter ended, though treating very different topics, prove that's not the case.

Even if they don't follow the storyline of The Cursed Child, I think that trying to focus on the next generation would feature many of its problems. They should keep away from these characters.

Artwork by Achen089

3- Possibility I'd really, really like

A show about The Founders:

Ever since their introduction in The Chamber of Secrets, I fell in love with the concept of the Hogwarts Founders. In fact, they are the minor characters I'm most obsessed with, and since we really didn't learn much about them, they could fully explore their story in a TV series without messing too much with the canon. The medieval setting would be very distinctive, since the franchise has mostly focused on the twentieth century, and it would also give it an epic scope that could be the closest they could get to something like Game of Thrones -which we know is the intent of Warner with its new Lord of the Rings series.

And even though Hogwarts would obviously feature, it would probably not focus on the student body, giving it a very different feel to the Harry Potter books.

And since we're talking Houses and Founders... Ravenclaw is the best.

Artwork by Natello

4- Possibility I don't want at all

A series about The Marauders:

In much the same way as I love the founders, it seems like a good portion of the fandom is obsessed about The Marauders (a.k.a. the generation of Harry's parents). I'm pretty sure many of them are salivating over the idea of this bunch becoming the protagonists, but I'd argue there are three reasons why this idea isn't good:

1- The format of following a group of students through their school years would be too similar to the main Potter series. I think the franchise should expand in ways that don't constitute a retread and are quite distinct, which is what I like the most about Fantastic Beasts.

2- Everything of note in the lives of The Marauders was already covered in the seven novels. Sticking to it would be boring, while adding to that in an attempt to be more epic and akin to the school years lived by Harry, would feel like an unearned retcon.

3- The Marauders are jerks. Okay, maybe not Lupin. And Sirius at least has the benefit of being featured as a much more likeable adult during most of the series.

But then there's James Potter, who remains the HP character I dislike the most. We're supposed to hate Umbridge or Rita Skeeter, but that's not the case for James. Instead, we're meant to like the guy. And sorry, he's just a bully and an arrogant idiot. They try to justify it by acknowledging we was awful on his "youth", but that he became a better person around the time he was 17. That would be meaningful if he hadn't died at 21, but as things are, he was just an acceptable human being for a couple of years of his life. I don't know what Lily was thinking.

Artwork by Jeannine Delleré

5- Possibility I could get on board with

A prequel about the First Wizarding War:

A series set during Voldermort's original rise to power and the fight against him waged by the first Order of the Phoenix could work.

This is a period that could be as epic as the main series, and it also has the plus of featuring many familiar faces in completely new situations we haven't explored so far. I'm not even against having the slightly more mature Marauders here, provided the series doesn't revolve around them but rather the ensemble (and there are a LOT of possible characters here).

6- Possibility that could work, but only if treated with care

A Potter-like story about one of the foreign schools:

This would be similar in format to the seven-year saga of Harry and company, but set outside of Hogwarts could give it a very different flavor with just enough of the familiar. Another thing I really like about Fantastic Beasts is the exploration of other countries and their magical cultures, and this would be a way to do it. The fact that most of the western media seems to be centered on the United States means they'll probably pick Ilvermorny School, but I'd love if they'd went with a more inspired choice.

On the down side, I don't know why, but I suspect a series set on this scenario would attempt to achieve that pseudo-edgy "CW" tone they now put on everything, and which is very un-Potter