NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
The hit book series and blockbuster movie franchise is getting a reboot. Yep, that’s right. Everyone’s favorite wizard is coming back to Hogwarts and taking on a whole new life as a streaming series on (HBO) Max. Set to debut in 2026, what needs to happen for the television adaptation to be a success?
Stay More True To The Books
While fans loved the books and the movies, the movies faced a challenge from the beginning. How do they tell the whole story while keeping it at an attention span for kids and young adults? These movies were made well before the normal 3-hour epic tales we get these days. Plenty of content had to be cut to fit into a feature-length film. Unfortunately, that would mean certain parts of the story would be cut short or left out altogether.
If the series takes each book and makes it a full season, even if they only do 8 episodes and an hour each, there are 8 hours of story per book instead of 2-2.5 hours of a movie. The cast and crew can dig deeper into these characters and tell the full story.
Leave Out The Original Cast
This will be the hardest thing for Harry Potter fans to accept. For this to be exceptional, it needs to distance itself from the original cast. It needs to stand on its own two feet. The connection to the original cast and movies should come in the form of hidden Easter eggs for the hardcore fans to find along the way.
The original cast should not be involved. No cameos. no teacher roles. None of it. That might break some people’s hearts but for the young cast to be able to share a slice of the beloved franchise, they cannot be overshadowed by the dominant presence of the initial actors.
Distance Itself From Controversy
There’s a divide in the Harry Potter community that the Max show needs to avoid at all costs. Don’t get involved. Don’t feed into it. Don’t even entertain opinions. With controversial remarks continuing to come from J.K. Rowling, the show needs to not be responsive. The only response should be “She created this world we all know and love. We’re trying to honor those stories and characters” and nothing more. Make it about the story and nothing more. Don’t create a whole new narrative by getting involved in social media politics. Loose lips may sink ships but they also doom movies and shows. As a fantasy show about wizards and magic, it’s important to remember not to feed the trolls.
Keep A Young Adult Tone
Not only did Harry grow as the book series went on, so did the readers. Now most of the people who love books and movies are adults with children of their own. There needs to be a perfect balance of childhood wonder and adult themes without crossing a line. You can’t alienate your fanbase by coloring inside the lines too much of the target audience. The Harry Potter series needs to find a way to keep it engaging for the original fans and the new fans they’re trying to bring in. There’s a sweet spot they need to shoot for that adult Harry Potter lovers can enjoy the series with their kids. It needs to come off as passing a torch to a younger generation of fans without completely turning off the ones who were along for the ride.
As it stands, some diehard fans love the idea of more content in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Other fans want their beloved stories to go untouched. No matter what side of the line you stand on, the new show has to go off without a hitch. Balance will be the key.
