HBO’s Harry Potter TV series secures director and showrunner, Succession’s Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod

Hogwarts in the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter" theme park at Universal Studios Hollywood, Los Angeles in the US. Photo / Getty Images

The new Harry Potter series has been put into motion, with a few big-named industry figures helming the project.

Succession writer Francesca Gardiner has been put in charge of the new Harry Potter series.

HBO has confirmed Gardiner – who has also worked on His Dark Materials – will be at the helm for the upcoming reboot series based on J.K. Rowling’s boy wizard books.

HBO and Warner Bros TV – which are behind the HBO Original series – confirmed on Wednesday, June 26 that Gardiner will serve as showrunner and executive producer.

Mark Mylod - who has also worked on Succession as well as Game of Thrones, The Last of Us and Entourage - will executive produce, and direct multiple episodes.

In January, Warner Bros TV chairman Channing Dungey spoke about the importance of finding the right team to lead the show.

She said: “We’re in conversations with a number of different writers to figure out who’s going to be the person to lead that franchise for us.”

She added: “The first step for us is figuring out who this showrunner is going to be and once we get that locked down, then we can start having those [casting] conversations.”

There are no casting details available thus far, although Dungey admitted the “first two books” were the most challenging.

She explained: “The tricky part is the first two books, where the kids are on the younger end, around 11 or 12.”

The show will be released over a decade, with each season based on one of the seven books, and Warner Bros Discovery chief executive David Zaslav previously said the first is expected to drop in 2026.

Your Hogwarts letter is here.

Max has ordered the first ever #HarryPotter scripted television series, a faithful adaptation of the iconic books. #StreamOnMax pic.twitter.com/3CgEHLYhch

— Max (@StreamOnMax) April 12, 2023

The studio’s logline reads: “The series will be a faithful adaptation of the beloved Harry Potter book series by author and executive producer J.K. Rowling.

“The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail and much-loved characters Harry Potter fans have loved for over twenty-five years.

“Each season will bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and cherished films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally.”