HBO’s Harry Potter series is about to begin, and it just added three new cast members. Harry Gilby will play Charlie Weasley, while Jasper Talbot and Hannah Chinn take on James and Lily Potter, Harry’s parents. All three join Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the first season of the series, which premieres on OSN+ on 26 December 2026.
James and Lily matter enormously to the Potter story. Their sacrifice is the reason Harry survives and the reason Voldemort falls. The whole saga starts with them. Charlie Weasley, the adventurous dragon-handling brother working in Romania, has long been a fan favourite even though the early books give him little time on the page. Casting all three this early suggests HBO is building something bigger than a quick retelling.
The cast is now very large. Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout lead as Harry, Hermione and Ron, the trio who will carry the series through its expected multi-season run. The Hogwarts staff includes John Lithgow as Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Snape and Nick Frost as Hagrid. Warwick Davis returns to the wizarding world as Professor Flitwick, the role he played in the films. Katherine Parkinson leads the Weasley household as Molly, alongside a family of red-headed siblings. Johnny Flynn plays Lucius Malfoy and Luke Thallon plays the nervous Professor Quirrell.
HBO is already looking beyond the first season. Kit Harington has been cast as the vain Gilderoy Lockhart for season two. Billy Barratt will play a young Tom Riddle, Lenny Rush will play Dobby and Rafe Spall will join as Arthur Weasley, which signals that Chamber of Secrets is already well underway.
The production team is strong. Francesca Gardiner, who previously worked on Succession, is writing and running the show. Mark Mylod, who directed several of that series’ best episodes, will direct multiple episodes. J.K. Rowling and longtime Potter film producer David Heyman are executive producers, which links the new show to the films that defined the franchise for a generation.
The first season runs eight episodes, which gives HBO room to include the subplots, side characters and small moments the films had to cut. In the Middle East, fans can stream it exclusively on OSN+ when it launches this Christmas.
The series is under two months away, and expectations are high. It will have to win over viewers who grew up with the films while also introducing Hogwarts to a new generation for the first time.
