Harry Potter trivia has basically fueled a whole industry (see: Pottermore, countless Harry Potter board games), and now WarnerMedia is looking for it to fuel a whole TV series. In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Wizarding World, WarnerMedia has greenlit an unscripted Harry Potter game show and a retrospective special to air on HBO Max and later, Cartoon Network and TBS.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that we’re getting a new Harry Potter TV series…and it’s a quiz show. The untitled quiz competition show, which is now casting via WizardingWorld.com, will “feature super fans competing to answer trivia questions with special guests set to also be featured in the four-episode series,” per THR. Fans will also be allowed to play along online. The show will lead into a retrospective special, with both airing over five nights on HBO Max.
“To celebrate the dedicated fans old and new who have passionately kept the Wizarding World magic alive in so many forms for decades, these exciting specials will celebrate their Harry Potter fandom in a must-see multiplatform TV event,” said Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics president Tom Ascheim, who is overseeing both projects, in a release Wednesday. “All Potter fans can gear up for this ultimate one-of-a-kind celebration by embracing their inner Hermione Granger and studying their Wizarding World knowledge. For fans who have always wanted to discover what it might be like to take the O.W.L. exams, this is as close as they are going to get!”
First question on the docket: who asked for a Harry Potter quiz show? Not Harry Potter fans, for whom unscripted content is the last thing on their minds, and who have been participating in this kind of trivia-based interaction for the past few decades, whether through online portals like Pottermore or video and board games. A quiz show offers nothing new for the fans, nor does it encourage people who are beginning to feel jaded with the franchise in the wake of author J.K. Rowling’s transphobic statements or, frankly, her very silly pieces of trivia. However, THR does note that Rowling is not directly involved with either the quiz show or retrospective special, at least. However, Warners did collaborate with her team.
But WarnerMedia hopes the game show and retrospective will build the foundation of the Harry Potter TV franchise. The two titles are the first official TV offshoots of the Harry Potter franchise, and will be executive produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted TV and Warner Horizon. Robin Ashbrook and Yasmin Shackleton will executive produce the hourlong quiz show, while Casey Patterson (A West Wing Special, VAX Live) will oversee the retrospective.
But while a quiz show is not the most glamorous start for the Harry Potter TV universe, it does set the stage for the upcoming live-action scripted Harry Potter series that is reported to be in the works. We can likely expect even more Harry Potter small-screen projects in the future.
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