REPOST: THINGS I’D LIKE TO SEE IN EARLY SEASONS OF A HARRY POTTER TV SHOW

 

Hello! It’s me, and I’m back with a new post. New-ish, at least. With production of the upcoming Harry Potter TV show well underway, I thought it was a good time to revisit this post. I wanted to give my opinions on a few things and add a few wishlist items I’ve thought of since. From what has been announced about the show so far, there’s a lot to get excited about. I’ll expand on this below. As for book reviews, I’m not sure when I’ll get around to posting more. I’ve been a bit busy lately, even though I’ve had no success in finding a job. I’ve had to resort to gig work to stay afloat. I will publish my annual Best Books of the Year post. That is one I don’t want to miss. Anyway, on with the post:

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Good morning! It’s been a while since I wrote a discussion post. I’ve just been busy, having spent a long time searching for work without success. I also couldn’t think of good topics to write about. This week, though, there were some great news (IMO) relevant to the bookish world. As reported on several outlets, such as People and E! News, HBO Max and Warner Bros. are negotiating to reboot the Harry Potter film series. This time, the books would be adapted into a TV show. There will ostensibly be one season per novel. As a huge fan of the Harry Potter universe, I was thrilled when I found out about the news of this reboot. There were signs, and more than whispers, but never legit reports.

Several people weren’t as happy with this news, and I’m not going to debate that in this post. I’ll just say that I would not mind if J.K. Rowling were involved in the show in any capacity. I have nothing against her, and she wrote the books after all. Anyway, the news got me thinking about stuff I would like a new Harry Potter show to include from the novels. Obviously, a lot of content didn’t make it into the films due to time constraints. They were great, but I’m firmly in the “the books were much better” camp. Without further ado, here are some elements I’d like to see in early seasons (1-4) of a potential new show:

A “RACEBENT” HERMIONE GRANGER
 

 

UPDATE 2025: This one actually happened. As reported last May, young actress Arabella Stanton landed the role of Hermione Granger after an open casting call. It seems to have been well-received. I personally like the choice. Arabella hasn’t had a notable role before, obviously, so people will for a long while think of her as Hermione. She has the freedom to make this new live-action Hermione her own, setting her apart from Emma Watson’s interpretation. There’s also a video of Arabella delivering the famous “It’s LeviOsa, not levioSAA!” line, and I think she nailed it. At the very least, I’m hoping Arabella has similar success playing Hermione as Jenna Ortega did playing Wednesday after Christina Ricci’s acclaimed performance.

Casting is one aspect the Harry Potter films totally nailed. Emma Watson owned her role to the point I think “Hermione” whenever I see her. A few times, I’ve come across re-imaginings of the characters, and one I liked most was a dark-skinned Hermione. Maybe I just found the concept art cute. I think the idea is appealing, and it would work because the books never explicitly state Hermione’s race. The Cursed Child play cast a Black actress as Hermione, but I didn’t like her. She looked like the world’s most irate drill sergeant. Hermione Granger doesn’t have to be as beautiful as Emma Watson, but it’s also wrong for her to appear more forbidding than Professor McGonagall or even Umbridge.

REDESIGNED HOGWARTS ROBES AND CRESTS

 

 

This one is pretty much certain to happen. A new Harry Potter live action adaptation would need redesigned costumes to differentiate it from the films. As a Ravenclaw, one element I’d like to see is book-accurate House colors. The films went for blue and silver, which is good-looking, but I’d prefer the original blue and bronze. Making the mascot a raven wouldn’t be bad either; they are intelligent birds.

A MORE SELF-ASSURED RONALD WEASLEY
 

UPDATE 2025: The actor who landed the role of Ronald Weasley, like the rest of the Golden Trio, was announced last May. Unlike with Dominic McLaughlin and Arabella, not much has been seen of Alastair Stout. He looks fitting for the role, but how well he’ll play Ron is still to be seen. Alastair doesn’t seem to have the pessimistic vibe I wrote about below regarding Rupert Grint’s portrayal of Ron.

I personally see almost no flaw in how Rupert Grint played Ronald Weasley. All golden trio actors delivered excellent performances. Movie Ron was still noticeably less confident than Book Ron, though. Grint just seemed to give off this vibe, as if his Ron felt inadequate or thought that he didn’t amount to much. I'd like to see whoever plays Ron Weasley to make him be a bit more assertive and confident. Ron may be poor, but he doesn't think lowly of himself because of that.

A MORE CONSISTENT VISUAL/MUSICAL IDENTITY

With eight movies that constantly changed directors, the Harry Potter adaptations had very different looks and feels. For me, this was most noticeable starting with the fourth film. The music score was a stunning (but still wild) departure. Whereas the first three films sounded like they were made in the 20th century, the rest of the films sounded like they were upgraded to the 21st century. There is just something very noticeable to me about the music. If the TV show had to emulate the score from one of the movies, I’d like it to be Order of the Phoenix. As for visuals and aesthetic, many fans loved Prisoner of Azkaban, but it was my least favorite. Goblet of Fire would be my preference. It’s not as outdated as the previous films, but also not as dark as the others (cue the happy/corrupted Thomas the Tank Engine meme).

A YOUNGER CAST FOR SOME OF THE ADULT CHARACTERS

UPDATE 2025: A bunch of the adult Harry Potter characters were cast not long after the Golden Trio. Among them was an actor named Paapa Essiedu, who will be Severus Snape. This casting seemed controversial at first. I read a comment on Reddit from someone who was worried that making Snape a Black man would make Harry’s father look worse than he already does. It suggested that James would now be a rich white kid who mercilessly bullied a classmate who may have been one of the few Black kids at the school. This has racism implications, so I wonder how they’ll handle this in the show. I know nothing about Mr. Essiedu, so I have no idea what his Snape will be like. He has a bit of a comedian look, though, and Snape isn’t the least bit funny.

Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall, as well as Hagrid, Lucius Malfoy, and the Dursleys have also been cast. The actors seem good, though I don’t know them from anywhere except for John Lithgow, who was in The Accountant, and the actress for Petunia looks like the actress who played Anya Taylor-Joy’s friend in Emma.

Like the golden trio, most of the cast for the adult characters of the Harry Potter films were just incredible. Alan Rickman is one of the most beloved by fans due to his performance. Several characters, mainly those in James and Lily’s generation, were made a tad older in the movies compared to their book counterparts. Harry’s parents didn’t even make it to their thirties! Mrs. Weasley’s actress is the one that most stood out to me, though. She just looked too old, even for a woman who’s had seven children. I may catch flak for this, but it’s just my personal opinion. Mrs. Weasley should have looked at least the age that the actors for Harry’s parents did.

MORE QUIDDITCH GAMES (AND UPDATED RULES, MAYBE?)

Many fans of the Harry Potter series enjoy Quidditch games in particular. Unfortunately, several of the novels’ subplots involving Quidditch were cut from the films. The most significant, in my opinion, is when Gryffindor wins the Quidditch Cup in Order of the Phoenix, against all odds. It makes Harry so ecstatic that he finally kisses Ginny Weasley. This was a much better and more romantic first kiss for them than the one that the film adaptation went with. There really need to be more matches shown in the TV adaptation (and dedicate at least a quarter episode to the World Cup match!). Another change I’d welcome is a particular one that the Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions videogame made: nerfing the Golden Snitch (it’s a tad overpowered) and maybe allow it to be caught two or three times per game, plus have matches end once a team reaches a certain number of points. I’m sure they could find a way to adjust the matches to maintain the same suspenseful high stakes they have as they are in the books.

THE BACKSTORY OF THE MARAUDER’S MAP
 

 

When Fred and George give Harry the Marauder’s Map, the Prisoner of Azkaban film doesn’t delve into the origins of this unique artifact. There isn’t so much as a mention that the twins rescued it from Filch. As such, people who have only watched the films have no idea how rich of a backstory the Marauder’s Map has. Neither would they know that Harry’s dad, James, was one of the creators. If it’s true that the Harry Potter series is being adapted into a show, that means there would be screen time for the writers to include this subplot in season three. It’s one of the most important book storylines.

AN EXPANDED BOGGART LESSON SEQUENCE
 

Although the Prisoner of Azkaban is my least favorite film adaptation, it has a gem of a scene when Professor Lupin introduces Boggarts into his DADA class. Neville’s Boggart is funny enough, but when Ron gets his turn, that’s when the film really shines. In the book, Ron simply…well, what he does to his spider Boggart is boring. Movie Ron gives his spider roller skates, which was absolutely hilarious. If a new TV show doesn’t copy this scene, or come up with a just-as-fun alternative, it would be a crime. A nice bonus would be to see Hermione’s Boggart. It’s so unexpected.

INTRODUCE THE FIREBOLT EARLIER

 

In the Prisoner of Azkaban film, Harry gets the Firebolt in the very final scene. A Buckbeak feather makes it obvious who sent it. In the books, Sirius sends the broomstick much earlier, soon after Harry loses his Nimbus 2000. At this point, Sirius is still a villain, so Hermione has the teachers test the Firebolt to make sure it doesn’t have any curses on it. Giving Harry the Firebolt earlier would also let a potential TV show include more Quidditch scenes and have Harry blow everyone away with his world-class broomstick.

THE STUDENTS FROM BEAUXBATONS AND DURMSTRANG
 

 

The existence of other wizarding schools wasn’t really touched upon in the books until Goblet of Fire. With the revival of the Triwizard Tournament, the story introduced two major schools: Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and Durmstrang Institute. They appear in the film adaptation, of course, but with certain liberties. In the books, the schools are clearly co-ed, just like Hogwarts. For some reason, the film decided to have Beauxbatons be female-only and Durmstrang male-only. The former painted themselves into a corner in particular, as the Beauxbatons uniforms look too feminine.

LUDO BAGMAN’S ANTICS

Many characters didn’t get the chance to appear in the film adaptations. Common fan favorites include Charlie Weasley, Winky, and Peeves. Ludo Bagman, who’s introduced in the fourth book, is entirely omitted from the films. Seeing him on screen isn’t a big wish for me, but I still think he’s such an entertaining and humorous character. If a show didn't include Peeves for some reason, Ludo would make a good alternative, even if he is temporary.

THE BARTY CROUCH SUBPLOT

This is another important storyline that got cut from the movies. The fourth book’s adaptation only touched a bit upon the relationship between Bartemius Crouch and his son of the same name. Viewers know that Barty Crouch Jr. despises his father, but it’s not really explained why. And there’s no mention of Mrs. Crouch at all. Same for Winky, whose role is key for this subplot. The way this was done in the movie was a bit cringey. Harry getting kicked by some random dude…sheesh. It was one of the poorest decisions, right along with Bellatrix Lestrange attacking the Burrow for no reason.

EXPANDED RITA SKEETER STORYLINE

In the film adaptation of Goblet of Fire, Rita Skeeter was one of the best casting choices. She looks the part and has the feel of a love-to-hate kind of character. I mean, Rita’s supposed to be an annoying, nosy reporter who is willing to sink low in order to get her story and portray Harry and friends in a bad light. Unfortunately, the film barely does anything with Rita. She’s more of a mild annoyance than a thorn in Harry’s side. Including Hermione’s rivalry with Rita will be satisfying to see on screen. 

THE FIRST AND THIRD TASKS
 

This is one aspect of the books the Goblet of Fire film didn’t quite get right. The first task was suspenseful (even over-the-top) in the film compared to the book. For the third task, it’s the opposite. Time constraints meant Harry didn’t get to face an assortment of dangerous magical creatures and curses. He gets seriously injured as a result too, which makes his escape from a resurrected Voldemort even more remarkable.

 

Those are some of the major book elements I would like to see a Harry Potter TV show adapt. I picked stuff from books 1-4 to keep this post from getting too long. It's also a bit early to start wishing about plot points to be covered in later seasons, as they're still so far off. That's not to say I haven't thought about it. I will probably write a second part of this post with things I'd like to see in potential seasons 5 and later. For now, this is it. These are storylines I would really like to see in live action at last. I'll have my fingers crossed that at least a few of them happen.