Harry Potter TV Series Writer Doesn’t Like “Rigorous” Adaptations

Television

Andy Greenwald, one of the newly announced writers for the upcoming Harry Potter Max series, recently claimed that he did not prefer the idea of a faithful adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s beloved books despite admitting the success it would bring. He further admitted to never having finished the books, only having read a few to his daughter until she was old enough to read them on her own. While any parent would do this, it’s quite another thing when you’re to be a writer on a show based on a very popular franchise and don’t know much, if anything, about the source material.  

When asked if this series could be adapted faithfully on his podcast The Watch back in February, Greenwald’s initial response was a blunt “Yes.” He then further explained how popular the novels and franchise are (via That Park Place): 

“These are really, really rich and they are very long books especially later in the series. People adore them. And successive generations are discovering them and loving them every day… The stores are packed everywhere they are in the country and around the world. People are buying the chocolate frogs and the hats and the owls, all of it. You can monetize almost every single aspect of it. And they kind of have.”

“So the idea of an incredibly rigorous text-to-screen adaptation is, I think, probably a safe bet to be a success.”

Why, yes, you dimwit, a text-to-screen adaptation is the safest and SMARTEST bet to success with this show. He went on to say:

“If something is trumpeting its absolute rocksteady faithfulness, I think the pleasures that can be derived from that are probably not going to be for me because I didn’t read all the books. I read them to my older daughter until she could read them for herself and then she dusted me.”

“And I think maybe there’s some other creative possibilities within this world, but J.K. Rowling controls all of it and is not going to let anyone else come play with her toys. And that’s her right and is obviously very profitable for her. So that’s what we get.”

With the last part of the statement, he does seem to be respectful enough not to wish to stray from the source material, considering how adamant J.K. Rowling typically is, especially with her role as executive producer on the show. However, it is honestly a mystery as to why these sorts of people involve themselves in big franchises when they lack any and all passion for the I.P. Greenwald’s previous notable works include being a producer on the show Briarpatch (2019-2020) and a writer for Rockville CA (2009). Other shows on which he worked are Legion (2017) and After Thrones (2016), on both of which he was a producer. 

Let us not forget the casting call for the “Golden Trio,” stating how the producers are “…committed to inclusive, diverse casting… For every role, please submit qualified performers, without regard to ethnicity, sex, disability, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other basis protected by law unless otherwise specifically indicated.”

It has been argued that putting this out was required by the U.K.; however, it does not douse the flames of concern for many fans. 

Even with the author’s heavy involvement with this series, many Harry Potter fans recall that J.K. Rowling defended the decision to cast actress Noma Dumezweni as a race-swapped Hermione in the abomination of a stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. At the time, Rowling told The Guardian, “With my experience of social media, I thought that idiots were going to idiot. But what can you say? That’s the way the world is. Noma was chosen because she was the best actress for the job. When John told me he’d cast her, I said, ‘Oh, that’s fabulous’ because I’d seen her in a workshop and she was fabulous.”

All well and good, especially if the actor portraying the character does a decent job of it. However, the character of Hermione was never described as being dark-skinned. Nor is the Harry Potter series lacking in dark-complexioned characters—Lee Jordan, the Patil twins, Angelina Johnson, and Blaise Zabini, to name a few. Of course, it would not be uncommon for J.K. Rowling to suddenly change a character on a whim, such as she did with Dumbledore in her documentary, A Year in the Life. Yes, she mentioned during the filming of The Half-Blood Prince as well that she made the screenwriter change a line from Dumbledore mentioning a woman because he is actually a homosexual. Reading through all seven books, no one could have detected this detail at all in the text, so hearing it straight from the author’s lips after all the novels are written, out of the blue, in an interview was rather jarring. To be fair, J.K. Rowling had kept many of her characters’ backstories under lock and key for the entire publication of the books until the announcement of Pottermore (now Wizarding World) back in August of 2009, where she put all other writings regarding the series, particularly anything lore-related and a handful of notable character backstories. 

Upon the reveal of the Harry Potter series being adapted by Max, Warner Bros. Discovery announced:

“The stories from each of Rowling’s Harry Potter books will become a decade-long series produced with the same epic craft, love and care this global franchise is known for.  The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail, much loved characters and dramatic locations that Harry Potter fans have loved for over twenty-five years.”

“Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally.” 

Rowling also added then, “Max’s commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I’m looking forward to being part of this new adaptation, which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long form television series.”

This series is still slated to premiere in 2026, but no official release date has been announced. Now, the floor is open to all of you—what are your thoughts on this upcoming Harry Potter TV series? Worried, angry, happy, sad, neutral? Does what this newly hired writer says set you with ease or total unease? Please let us know (respectfully) in the comments below!