HBO is going back to Hogwarts, with a camera crew in tow
HBO is preparing a behind-the-scenes special for its upcoming Harry Potter TV adaptation, giving viewers a look at how the first season is being built and how the new Harry, Ron and Hermione were chosen. Apparently, even wizarding worlds need production calendars.
The special, Finding Harry: The Craft Behind the Magic, promises an “in-depth look at the making of the first season” and is set to premiere on Sunday, April 5 on HBO Max in the U.S., the U.K. and Ireland.
A teaser released Thursday features interviews with John Lithgow, who plays Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu, who plays Snape, and members of the crew working on the large-scale production. The special is narrated by Nick Frost, who plays Hagrid, and it also follows the search that led to Dominic McLaughlin, Alistair Stout and Arabella Stanton being cast as Harry, Ron and Hermione.
“You wait to do something forever that means that much to people,” Lithgow says in the teaser. Essiedu adds, “Just walking in and seeing the train, you imagine yourself being a kid at Hogwarts.”
According to the synopsis, the program offers an inside view of the “epic scale and meticulous care” behind HBO’s new Harry Potter series. It is told through the people handling casting, production design, costume design and creature effects, all of whom are apparently busy making sure the wizarding world looks expensive enough to justify the budget.
The synopsis also says the special will document the extensive process behind casting the new trio while highlighting the “awe-inspiring commitment to detail and immense talent” behind the series.
HBO has reason to keep feeding the anticipation machine. In its first 48 hours, the Harry Potter trailer drew more than 277 million organic views across platforms, making it the most-watched trailer in HBO and HBO Max history.
The first season of the multi-season series will adapt Rowling’s first novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and is now scheduled to arrive on the platform earlier than originally announced, in December this year.
Fan reaction to the trailer, as noted by The Hollywood Reporter, ranged from “bland” to “I cried three times.” A wide spectrum, as ever, from the internet’s most reliable critical institution.
