How the Harry Potter TV series could improve the Wizarding World

By Amelia Schmidt

Many fans might be upset that the series is rebooting; though this change could potentially fix the mistakes made by the movies, books– and the author.

If I were to describe the world’s best-selling book series of all time, with 600 million copies sold since 1997, what would you guess? Here’s a hint: it’s a franchise that’s worth about $25 billion and is composed of 7 books, 8 movies, a Broadway show, 4 theme parks, and a number of worldwide exhibitions and stores. If you guessed Harry Potter, you may know that the series has been translated into 85 languages, and an estimated 1 out of 15 people in the entire world own a copy of at least one book in the series.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a well-loved global phenomenon… and it’s getting a reboot. Earlier this year on April 12, the popular streaming service (HBO) Max announced a reboot of the epic movie series. The new television series is set to portray the books in ways the movies couldn’t, developing certain relationships and character arcs lacking in the previous adaptations, and possibly including fan-favorite plot threads like Hermione Granger’s quest to free the House-elves.

While most Harry Potter superfans, known as “Potterheads,” still admire the movies and the original cast, they’ve also expressed excitement for the new television adaption. However, others are voicing confusion over the decision to reboot the series:

“In the little teaser for the Harry Potter show they used the same logo, the same music, and even the same castle as the movies,” Harry Potter fan Alex Zalan tweeted. “Like, what is even the point of this?”

Some Potterheads also plan to boycott the series as a reaction to author J.K. Rowling’s controversial comments about the transgender community.

“A few years ago this would have been a dream. Now it’s a slap in the face,” voiced a fan on X, formerly known as Twitter. “JKR has destroyed everything that was special about Harry Potter and there’s no universe in which I will support anything that gives a literal villain like her money or recognition.”

When asked about the backlash to Rowling’s transphobic statements, and whether her views might affect talent’s interest in taking part in the series, CEO and chairman of Max content Casey Bloys said, “That’s a very online conversation, very nuanced and complicated and not something we’re going to get into. Our priority is what’s on the screen. Obviously, the Harry Potter story is incredibly affirmative and positive and about love and self-acceptance. That’s our priority— what’s on screen.”

The reboot could be the chance to redeem author J.K. Rolwing’s relationship with the LGBTQ+ community. In both the Harry Potter movie and book series, none of the characters identify as LGBTQ+. The exception would be Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, who Rowling confirmed was gay in 2007 to confusion and backlash from readers over how Rowling handled the release of the news. Including more queer characters has the potential to improve the franchise by integrating a more realistic aspect that wasn’t present originally.

A Harry Potter reboot could end up becoming the key in diversifying the franchises’ now-tarnished image. Almost all of the main characters are described as white and are played by white actors, while the few secondary characters of color (such as Kingsley Shacklebolt, Dean Thomas, or Cho Chang) have limited screen time and are written with harmful stereotypes. Even though Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is supposed to have around 1,000 students, the school lacks an accurate population count of diversity– both in the movies and the books. The Harry Potter reboot could include new characters with diverse backgrounds. That’s not to say that the show would change any of the storylines, but rather provide a more realistic version of what Hogwarts should’ve really looked like. It’s unfeasible that the Harry Potter movies show Hogwarts as a nearly 100 percent white school. Diversity in pop culture is extremely crucial because of its powerful influence– and in terms of the Harry Potter series, its influence is specially held to the next generation. Every person should be able to see themselves in what they love, and diversifying the new Harry Potter reboot would let this happen for millions of fans around the world.

Whether or not the Max Harry Potter reboot is successful, it could change the course of the world’s most popular book series for the better, giving readers and movie-watchers alike a chance to believe in magic once more– a kind of magic that is more welcoming to everyone.