What we learn from the making of the Harry Potter series on HBO Max

A short 20-minute film released online 8 months before the series, “Looking for Harry” reveals some important information and some exciting new images. We summarize everything for you.

It’s a good way to keep fans excited. Eight months before the launch of its Harry Potter series (expected for Christmas 2026), the HBO Max platform releases Finding Harry: The Art Behind the Magic (Finding Harry) a making-of of around twenty minutes put online last Sunday. A short film narrated by Nick Frost, who dons Hagrid’s beard (in the tradition of Robbie Coltrane) to guide fans behind the scenes of this highly scrutinized reboot. Objective: to keep the flame alive. Remember that the magic is still there. And promise a faithful, ambitious, almost obsessive rereading of JK Rowling’s work. Everyone who appears in front of the camera repeats over and over again how important books are to them. How much they want to pay homage to the story of Harry Potter. But in concrete terms, what do we really learn there? We watched Finding Harry, and here’s the takeaway.

1) Season 1 will take place in 1991

A detail that is not one. The series will take place before the era of smartphones and social networks. In his time. Costume designer Holly Waddington explains that all the work around Muggles is based on in-depth research of the time: thrift stores, archives, materials… Result, a cold and pastel palette, dominated by very 90s synthetic fibers (yes, the famous tracksuits which sting the eyes). Conversely, the wizarding world relies on noble and natural materials: British wool, organic cotton, wooden buttons…”Wearing a sheep’s wool sweater is almost a radical act today”, she emphasizes. The visual contrast between the two worlds will therefore be even more marked than in the films.

2) More than 40,000 children auditioned

The figure is dizzying: more than 40,000 children auditioned to play in the series. Casting directors Emily Brockmann and Lucy Bevan literally watched everything. To open up the field of possibilities as much as possible, an initial sorting was done online, before physical sessions throughout the United Kingdom. They confide that Alastair Stout (Ron), “funny and charming”, was spotted in Manchester. And that Arabella Stanton (Hermione) was the revelation of London, with her mixture of play and seriousness.

3) How Harry was found

The most scrutinized role was ultimately given to Dominic McLaughlin, a young Scottish actor spotted in Glasgow. The specifications? A 10-year-old child capable of being both skeptical of the adult world and deeply intelligent. “More Artful Dodger than Oliver Twist,” sums up the production. During his audition, McLaughlin surprised everyone with… a poem he himself had written about his weekend. A simple, but revealing moment: “He had a quiet confidence in himself,” explains Lucy Bevan.

4) A long-term project

We know: 8 seasons are already planned. The series is a long-term project for everyone who signed on. John Lithgow, who plays Dumbledore, has just celebrated his 80th birthday, and he formulates this obvious fact with touching lucidity: “I will be around 88 when I’m done with it. It’s dizzying… They’re going to grow into it. And I’m going to grow old with them.” Same vision with Janet McTeer (McGonagall), who already imagines the young actors becoming adults before their eyes. And Paapa Essiedu (Rogue) projects: “I can’t wait to see how they will evolve, as actors and as people.”

5) A series that will dig into where the films have gone quickly

This is probably the most exciting point: the making-of heavily emphasizes the idea that the series will have more time to explore everything that the films had to skim over. The gigantic sets revealed go in this direction: the Leaky Cauldron, Diagon Alley, shops like Eeylops, Ollivanders or Quality Quidditch Supplies. And above all: more time at Hogwarts. Much more. The images already show several classroom scenes, and the casting of characters like Professor Binns or the Flamels confirm one thing: the series will focus on the daily lives of the students, in the classes, and not just on the main plot.

6) Limit digital effects

Production is based on a mix of old-fashioned craftsmanship and modern technologies. With a real priority given to practical effects, so that the young actors have concrete elements with which to play. The overall design is based on nature, to further accentuate the contrast between the magical world and the Muggle world. But behind the scenes, the teams also exploit everything that current technology allows. One name comes up: John Nolan, creature effects supervisor. A veteran of the saga, since he was already working as an intern on the films 25 years ago. His job today? Bringing animals to life that are larger than life. And there, the level of detail is crazy: 10 owls created for the series, around 36,000 feathers per owl, each placed… by hand! Same treatment for Scabbers, Ron’s rat, entirely recreated in animatronics.

7) Aesthetically, it will look (a lot) like the films

Despite all this, a question still arises: what will the series bring compared to the films? How can you manage to completely detach yourself from it, to create your own thing, without being systematically compared to the work of previous directors? Like the trailer, this short making-of seems to fully embrace its aesthetic resemblance to the film saga. We should not expect a break in the artistic direction. The costumes, the sets, the accessories, the Hogwarts Express… The Harry Potter series will be visually in the vein of the films. To stick faithfully to JK Rowling’s books. So as not to lose fans. Even if it means taking the risk of déjà vu.