November marks 20 years since the first Harry Potter film hit theaters, and HBO Max is already planning a party, with a Harry Potter game show and anniversary special scheduled for later this year.
The four-day quiz show will air on HBO Max, Cartoon Network, and TBS, with plans for international distribution underway. Fans ages 14 and older can already apply to compete with special guests in Harry Potter trivia.
“To celebrate the dedicated fans old and new who have passionately kept the Wizarding World magic alive in so many forms for decades, these exciting specials will celebrate their Harry Potter fandom in a must-see multiplatform TV event,” Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics president Tom Ascheim said in a statement.
“All Potter fans can gear up for this ultimate one-of-a-kind celebration by embracing their inner Hermione Granger and studying their Wizarding World knowledge. For fans who have always wanted to discover what it might be like to take the O.W.L. exams, this is as close as they are going to get!”
Sources at The Hollywood Reporter note that Rowling was not directly involved in either special, but that WB “collaborated with her team on the content.” The relationship between Rowling and Warner Bros. has been unclear since 2020, when the author’s transphobic comments prompted multiple Harry Potter actors to speak out in solidarity with the trans community, and WB to issue a statement about inclusion and empathy — without naming names.
Earlier in 2021, reports came through that a live-action Harry Potter TV series was in its early stages at HBO Max, but with no writers or creative team as yet attached. Warners denied that any such conversations were happening, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t or won’t…