According to Deadline, Three writers remain in the running to adapt J.K. Rowling’s (Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, The Casual Vacancy) Harry Potter books into a live-action series for Max, as Deadline exclusively revealed earlier this month. Now that their identities are known, they are Francesca Gardiner (Succession, Killing Eve), Tom Moran (The Devil’s Hour, Wild Bill), and Kathleen Jordan (American Princess, Teenage Bounty Hunters), according to sources. Over the next few months, the three can focus on refining their pitches. It is anticipated that a decision regarding the job winner will be made in June. David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, revealed last week that the Harry Potter series will launch on Max in 2026.
Representatives for Warner Bros. Television, the show’s producing studio, and Max declined to comment.
The teams at Max and WBTV, led by Casey Bloys (Less Than Perfect), Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content, and Warner Bros. TV Group Chairman Channing Dungey (Queen of the Damned, Showtime), began an exhaustive search by inviting screenwriters for films and television shows to pitch their ideas for a Harry Potter TV series. There were two rounds of the preliminary selection: one in Los Angeles and one in London. Rowling has contributed to the undertaking.
During the WBD earnings call last week, Zaslav stated: “I was in London a few weeks ago with Casey and Channing, and we spent some real time with JK and her team, both sides just thrilled to be reigniting this franchise. Our conversations were great.”
Deadline reports that they are aware that Max is amenable to exploring multiple Harry Potter-based ideas and that there may be a chance for more than one of the chosen writers to participate.
Gardiner served as a consulting producer for HBO’s Succession during seasons three and four. She was co-executive producer of AMC’s Killing Eve and an executive producer of the fantasy co-production His Dark Materials for HBO and BBC before joining the Jesse Armstrong project. She has also contributed to television programs, such as The Rook on Starz and The Man in the High Castle on Amazon.
The Devil’s Hour, a television series on Amazon that starred Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who, The Thick of It), was written by Moran. He also contributed to the Rob Lowe (Wayne’s World, The Outsiders) police drama Wild Bill and the science fiction series The Feed on Amazon.
Jordan was the creator of the Netflix series Teenage Bounty Hunters, which Jenji Kohan (Weeds, Mad About You) served as executive producer for. Jordan is also collaborating with the creator of Orange Is the New Black on The Decameron, another Netflix series.
Warner Bros. Television and Brontë Film and TV, the production company led by Rowling’s agent Neil Blair (C.B. Strike, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald), will produce the Harry Potter series. The two will executive produce alongside Ruth Kenley-Letts (Mrs.Wilson, The Midwich Cuckoos), CEO of Brontë, and David Heyman (Gravity, The Marriage Story), the film’s producer, was in negotiations to executive produce.
According to Deadline, Rowling’s Wizarding World, which includes retail establishments, theme parks, a global stage production, a $7.7 billion global feature franchise, and the $1.8 billion-grossing Fantastic Beasts spinoff films, was born out of her seven best-selling Harry Potter books, which have sold 600 million copies worldwide.