Harry Potter‘s upcoming HBO remake will try to avoid having a “huge gap” between seasons, according to the network’s boss.
The new TV adaptation of the hit J.K. Rowling fantasy novels is due to premiere later this year, though questions have been raised over how quickly seasons can be turned out given its scale.
Speaking to The Times, HBO and HBO Max boss Casey Bloys said of the wait for the second season: “Our goal is to not have a huge gap, you know, especially because the kids are growing. It’s not going to be an annual; the show is too big and too massive. But… they’re writing the season two now.”
This echoes recent comments by Bloys, who similarly revealed last week that Harry Potter wouldn’t produce a new season every year like some other shows.
“You have to balance it. For some of the bigger shows like Harry Potter or House of the Dragon, or The Last of Us, huge world-building shows, it would be nice to have those on an annual basis. But from a production point of view, it’s just not possible,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.
“It’s not that everybody involved is just taking their time and sitting around. These shows are complicated to do. In order to bring a show back on an annual basis, you do have to start from the beginning with people who know how to do it […] and it’s helpful if there are no dragons that need to be rendered, or zombies and things like that.”
The first trailer for the series was unveiled last week, though proved divisive among some fans, with many questioning why it was being made.
The show has also attracted backlash over Rowling’s anti-trans views and public hostility towards the transgender community.
John Lithgow, who plays Albus Dumbledore in the show, admitted he considered quitting the series over her views, while Severus Snape actor Paapa Essiedu has opposed her views and signed a petition calling for the entertainment industry to protect trans rights. Rubeus Hagrid star Nick Frost has also spoken out against Rowling’s views.
Previous Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe said last year that the author’s views make him “really sad, ultimately”, and wrote in an essay a few years prior: “Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I.”