Harry Potter fans, we’re back at Hogwarts, whether we asked for it or not.
HBO Max has dropped the first teaser for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the new eight‑episode series landing Christmas 2026, and the internet’s reaction is honestly all over the place.
The show stars Dominic McLaughlin as Harry, Arabella Stanton as Hermione and Alastair Stout as Ron, with John Lithgow as Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu as Snape and Janet McTeer as McGonagall. It’s being billed as a more faithful adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s books, with Succession alum Francesca Gardiner as writer‑showrunner and Mark Mylod directing multiple episodes.
You can peep the trailer here:
On one side, nostalgia has people in an absolute chokehold. Fans have already confessed to crying multiple times at the teaser, with one viral reaction saying they “cried like a child” seeing their childhood and adolescence reflected back at them. Others are obsessed with the little book‑accurate touches, like the proper early‑’90s vibe and emosh moments such as Harry watching Molly hug Ron goodbye, “something he’s never known”. For that corner of the fandom, the magic clearly never left, it just got that prestige TV budget.
But there’s still a solid crowd who are not feeling it. Some fans say the original films are their comfort watches and they simply don’t need a reboot, no matter how many cosy shots of the Great Hall you throw at them.
Then there’s the Paapa Essiedu situation. The actor has already spoken about receiving racist abuse and even death threats over his casting as Snape, which a lot of fans are rightly calling out as completely unacceptable. Unfortunately X is already full of renewed racist discourse now that the trailer has dropped.
Layered over everything is the ongoing backlash to Rowling’s views on trans people. For some, that’s a hard line — they won’t engage with the series at all.
Guess we’ll just have to wait and see how it all actually lands at Christmas, but whatever happens, please don’t take it out on the kids who are just doing their jobs.
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