HBO’s Harry Potter TV Series Is Still Filling Out Its Hogwarts Staff Amid Controversy

We still have no idea who will play the lightning bolt-tattooed titular character in HBO’s Harry Potter series, but we do know who will be teaching him and his crew of wizards. After months of speculation, HBO has confirmed the casting of key characters for the upcoming series.

Among the new actors confirmed as part of the series are relative newcomer Luke Thallon, who will be playing Voldemort murder-puppet Quirinus Quirrell, and award-winning actor Paul Whitehouse, who will be playing Hogwarts caretaker and cat lover Argus Filch. Harry Potter fans will recognize Whitehouse from 2004’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban where he played Sir Cadogan.

Outside of those surprises, the rest of HBO’s casting announcements were confirmations of the worst kept secrets in Hollywood. John Lithgow has officially been confirmed as Albus Dumbledore after not only confirming it less than two months ago but stating the role will “define me for the last chapter of my life.” Ozark’s Janet McTeer will play the unflappable Minerva McGonagall, The Capture’s Paapa Essiedu will assume the role of the perpetual hater Severus Snape, and Shaun of the Dead’s Nick Frost will be the benevolent bearded Rubeus Hagrid. All of these confirmations come after months of public rumors that the actors were joining the team, but doesn’t absolve the show of its most glaring issue.

Franchise creator J.K. Rowling will serve as one of the executive producers on the show, even after years of transphobic rhetoric. She’s also spoken out against minors undergoing gender transitions, and considered the trans rights movement as “dangerous” and misogynistic. Her willful desecration of gender identity has drawn the ire of the franchise’s most important actor, Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter in all of the movies and was saddened by Rowling’s transphobic remarks.

Fans have denounced the TV series since it was rumored to be in development in January 2021, but HBO maintained in a statement sent to Variety last November that “J.K. Rowling has a right to express her personal views.” This statement came after it pointed to the fact the company has “been working with J.K. Rowling and in the Harry Potter business for over 20 years.” It looks like HBO thinks predictable profits trump harmful moral stances that could endanger many of their viewers.

It’ll be interesting to see which actor will dare sign on as Harry Potter for this series, making themselves the face of what is surely going to be a very divisive TV show when it’s finally released.