| Harry Potter | |
| Genre | Drama
Fantasy |
| Created by | JK Rowling |
| Starring | Bill Nighy
Alison Steadman Andrew Garfield Kristian Nairn Gary Oldman Various Others |
| Opening Theme | Hedwig's Theme |
| Location | United Kingdom |
| Country Of Origin | United Kingdom |
| Number Of Episodes | 94 |
| Running Time | 60 - 90 minutes |
| Original Channel: | BBC One |
| Original Air Date | September 30th, 2017 - December 31st 2024 |
| Produced by | JK Rowling
Jack Thorne Sarah Phelps |
| Directed by | Various |
Harry Potter is a British television series based on the children's book series of the same name.
It premiered on BBC One on September 30th 2017, running for 8 series and concluding on December 31st 2024.
Each series is an adaptation of a book, excluding the final series, which is an adaptation of the stage play.
Background[]
The BBC commissioned a television adaptation of Harry Potter in mid-2016 and production began in early 2017. JK Rowling, the creator of the original book series, serves as showrunner and creator of the series, joined by Jack Thorne (His Dark Materials, The Fades) and Sarah Phelps (EastEnders, Cormoran Strike).
Filming for the first series began in March 2017 and concluded in August. The BBC greenlit a further 7 series, following the same annual filming schedule and adapting the books.
The cast list of the series is large and maintains largely of well-known British actors, and only the young characters were fairly unknown.
Some actors in the series, such as Bill Nighy and Gary Oldman, had appeared in the franchise's film adaptations, but in other roles.
Episodes[]
Series 1 - The Philosopher's Stone[]
Harry Potter: The Philosopher's Stone began airing on September 30th 2017 and consisted of 8 episodes.
| Episode | Title | Synopsis | Airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Boy Who Lived | In 1981, Mr and Mrs Dursley are left dumbfounded when their nephew is left on their doorstep, but there's much more to the boy than they could ever imagine.
11 years later, Harry Potter is extremely mistreated by his spiteful aunt and uncle and things worsen when his cousin unexplainably falls through a glass pane. Locked away, Harry begins receiving letters from an unknown source. Soon, the letters become so frequent that the Dursleys flee to a house on a rock. |
30th September 2017 |
| 2 | The Giant with Cake | As Harry turns 11, a shock arrival of a giant called Hagrid arrives with cake and big news, Harry Potter is a wizard. An angry Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon try to stop Harry accompanying Hagrid to the magical world, but Hagrid distracts them and Harry slips away to a new world.
He is taken to Diagon Alley, where he acquires his wand from Garrick Ollivander, who finds his destined wand very curious. Hagrid gifts him with a snowy Owl and they dine at the Leaky Cauldron, where he encounters Draco Malfoy for the first time. |
7th October 2017 |
| 3 | The Journey to Hogwarts | Hagrid sets Harry off to King's Cross Station, but fails to tell him how to access Platform Nine and Three Quarters. He instead seeks help in a rather large ginger family, the kind mother explains he must run directly into the wall between Platforms 9 and 10. Once on the train, he befriends one of the ginger children, Ron Weasley and they set off to Hogwarts. The long journey involves encountering their new classmates, such as the forgetful Neville Longbottom and the intelligent Hermione Granger.
Upon their arrival, their sorting begins and Harry joins Gryffindor house, despite Slytherin's Draco Malfoy trying to make a friend of him. |
14th October 2017 |
| 4 | An Introduction to Magical Sport | Harry begins to adjust to magical life, befriending his roommates Ron, Neville, Dean and Seamus. However, he finds an enemy in Draco Malfoy when he steals Neville's remembrall during Flying Lessons. But Harry gets the last laugh when McGonagall assigns him a role on the house Quidditch team. His first game gets off to a rocky start, but Gryffindor emerge victorious. | 21st October 2017 |
| 5 | Halloween/Troll in the Dungeon | In Charms lessons, the group learns the levitation spell and Ron gets on the wrong side of Hermione Granger and upsets her. At the Halloween feast, Professor Quirrell interrupts with the news of a Troll in dungeon. Knowing Hermione is down in the Dungeon's bathroom, Ron and Harry risk their lives to save the day, luckily Hermione escapes unscathed and the Troll is defeated. When professor Snape arrives, his leg wound doesn't go unnoticed by the trio.
The next day, the three visit Hagrid and ask him about the legendary Philosopher's stone. |
28th October 2017 |
| 6 | Christmas and Nicholas Flamel | The trio prepare for Christmas break by researching the Philosopher's stone and discover the alchemist Nicolas Flamel may well be the owner of it. But once they're caught out of bed to enter the restricted section, they're caught by Malfoy and Filch and find themselves in detention with Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest, where they encounter a dark figure feasting on a unicorn. With Hermione home for Christmas, Ron and Harry are left to their own devices for the holidays, and one of Harry's gifts, an invisibility cloak, keeps them busy. Harry encounters the Mirror of Erised and a surprise encounter with Dumbledore leaves him curious about his past. | 4th November 2017 |
| 7 | The Hunt for the Philosopher's Stone | As Spring arrives, Hermione concludes that Snape is seeking the Philosopher's Stone and its located on school property. They soon realise it must be underneath Fluffy the three headed dog and they begin their quest to retrieve it before Snape does. Tasks include escaping devil's snare, acquiring a flying key and a game of life-sized chess. Leaving behind Ron and Hermione, Harry heads in to confront Snape once and for all, but is left shocked when he comes face to face with someone else entirely. | 11th November 2017 |
| 8 | The Two-Faced Man | Harry comes face to face with Professor Quirrell, who reveals he is simply a host to Lord Voldemort. Harry discovers that the stone has placed itself in his pocket and a showdown over the stone between himself and Quirrell quickly leads to his demise, leaving the whereabouts of Voldemort unknown. Hospitalised, Harry recovers by the end of term and after talking to Dumbledore, learns he may have more power than he originally thought. At the final feast, a series of late additional house points leads to Gryffindor acquiring the house cup, but Harry must now return to the Dursleys for the summer. | 18th November 2017 |
Series 2 - The Chamber of Secrets[]
Harry Potter: The Chamber of Secrets began airing on September 29th 2018 and consisted of 8 episodes.
Series 3 - The Prisoner of Azkaban[]
Harry Potter: The Prisoner of Azkaban began airing on September 28th 2019 and consisted of 8 episodes.
Series 4 - The Goblet of Fire[]
Harry Potter: The Goblet of Fire began airing on September 26th 2020 and consisted of 16 episodes.
Series 5 - The Order of the Phoenix[]
Harry Potter: The Order of the Phoenix began airing on September 25th 2021 and consisted of 16 episodes.
Series 6 - The Half-Blood Prince[]
Harry Potter: The Half-Blood Prince began airing on September 24th 2022 and consisted of 16 episodes.
Series 7 - The Deathly Hallows[]
Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows began airing on September 23rd 2023 and consisted of 16 episodes.
Series 8 - The Cursed Child[]
Harry Potter: The Cursed Child began airing on November 26th 2024 and consisted of 6 episodes.
Spin-offs[]
The Tales of Beedle the Bard[]
The Tales of Beedle the Bard was an animated series that aired in July 2023 in the run up to the series 7 premiere. It consisted of 5 episodes, each introduced by Bill Nighy in character as Dumbledore. Each episode was 30 minutes long and adapted a story from The Tales of Beedle the Bard book.
Wizarding Documentaries[]
A series of 'documentaries' about the Wizarding World aired throughout the series.
Hogwarts: A History[]
Hogwarts: A History aired as an introduction to the Wizarding world in the run up to the series 1 premiere. It was narrated by Alison Steadman in character as Minerva McGonagall and explained the background of Hogwarts. It aired in July 2017.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them[]
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them aired as an introduction to the magical creatures and as a prologue to Prisoner of Azkaban. It features Kristian Nairn as Hagrid guiding viewers through Newt Scamander's book. It aired in July 2019.
Quidditch Through The Ages[]
Quidditch Through The Ages aired as a prologue to Goblet of Fire in July 2020 and featured Stephen Merchant as Ludo Bagman. It details the history of Quidditch in the run up to the upcoming Quidditch World Cup.