Harry Potter Season 1's Runtime Raises A Major Concern About Later Seasons Of The HBO Show

Casting for the upcoming Harry Potter TV show is currently underway, and details about season 1’s runtime have surfaced — and they raise a major concern about the remake’s later seasons. The Harry Potter TV series will adapt the books in a new medium, and Warner Bros. intends to keep the remake going for 10 years. While nothing’s been confirmed, the recent Harry Potter casting rumors reveal the likely direction of the HBO show. Things look promising on that front, but Harry Potter season 1’s runtime is another story.

Executive producers Mark Mylod and Francesca Gardiner revealed that season 1 will be around eight hours long (via the Harry Potter website). This means we’re probably looking at an eight-episode first season. This outing will likely adapt Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and while it’s on the short side, it should have enough time to cover the whole book successfully. The bigger concern is whether this will become the standard for the upcoming remake, which could create problems for its later seasons.

Harry Potter Season 1’s Runtime Is Perfect For Sorcerer’s Stone But Shouldn’t Become The Norm

The Later Books Need More Time To Tell Their Stories

Harry Potter season 1’s eight-hour runtime is perfect for The Sorcerer’s Stone, even if fans of the franchise would prefer longer seasons. The first Harry Potter book is just over 300 pages, so it isn’t so long that it needs a full 10-episode outing to do its story justice. The Sorcerer’s Stone movie proves as much, as it brings the story to life pretty successfully in its own runtime, which is under three hours. While the TV show will need time to include film omissions, like Snape’s potions trial, it has plenty of extra hours to cover these.

The bigger concern is what HBO is planning for Harry Potter‘s later seasons, which will be tasked with adapting much larger books. Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince, and Deathly Hallows all deserve lengthier outings to cover their narratives. And even Prisoner of Azkaban could easily be expanded, as readers have been demanding an adaptation of the Marauders’ backstory for years. The 10-year plan could mean we’re getting more than one season per book for the later sequels, but there’s no guarantee of that.

And even that approach could lead to awkward pacing, as dedicating two shorter seasons to books like Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows might leave too much extra time. This would be filled with original content, which could mean unpopular book changes. If Harry Potter‘s remake is going to extend certain subplots and character arcs, it needs to be done carefully. Dedicating ten episodes to each of the bigger books feels like a promising way to ensure a faithful adaptation that also has room to expand on things when necessary.

Why The Later Harry Potter Books Need 10 Episodes To Do Them Justice

They’re Already Lengthy & Have A Lot To Expand On

The later Harry Potter books — from Goblet of Fire onward — are all around 700 pages or more, so they really need at least 10 episodes to do their stories justice. It isn’t just the length of these sequels that warrants this approach, either. The later installments also expand the scope of the Wizarding World and introduce more supporting characters, many of whom deserve more in-depth subplots in the upcoming TV show. There are plenty of storylines from the books that should be elaborated on, from Draco’s Death Eater narrative to Percy Weasley’s redemption.

Between the length of the books and the subplots that need to be expanded, eight hours might not be enough to satisfactorily bring these Harry Potter books to life. As Game of Thrones’ earlier seasons prove, 10 episodes offer more than enough time to deliver a compelling adaptation, even of lengthy source material. Those two episodes really do make a difference, so HBO’s Harry Potter remake must adjust its runtime after its first couple of seasons.

Source: Harry Potter

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Harry Potter

Harry Potter is HBO’s remake of the iconic Wizarding World film series that consisted of eight films between 2001 and 2011. Each season adapts a book from JK Rowling’s popular series and provides more book-accurate details than the movies did. Upon the announcement of the Harry Potter TV show, the series received harsh criticism for the involvement of Rowling and for many thinking a reboot was unnecessary.

Main Genre

Adventure

Seasons

1

Directors

Mark Mylod

Showrunner

Francisca Gardiner

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