The runtime for season 1 of HBO's HBO's Harry Potter has been touted as a faithful adaptation of the seven Harry Potter books, with filming set to commence during the summer of 2025.

As per the official Harry Potter website, Gardiner and Mylod shared that "We have 8 hours to tell the first book, so we can dig into the real depths and crevices and how the language of magic can evolve." With many HBO series having hour-long episodes, this means that Harry Potter season 1 will likely consist of eight episodes. Previous comments and the revealed filming window have indicated that the series is expected to debut in late 2026 or in 2027.

What This Means For HBO's Harry Potter Series

The Runtime Can Incorporate Missed Opportunities From The Harry Potter Movies

Gardiner and Mylod's comments confirm that Harry Potter's runtime will be similar to many recent HBO series. The Penguin and House of the Dragon season 2, both of which were released on HBO in 2024, had eight episodes, with each one having an approximately one hour runtime. Given the inevitably large budget that the Harry Potter series will have and the current state of streaming television, season 1 was unlikely to have been more than 10 episodes.

Eight hours is significantly longer than the two hour and 32 minute runtime of the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone movie. This will allow the series to include Harry Potter characters, events, and locations that were not featured in the movie, with Gardiner and Mylod divulging that "We’ll get to have some fun with Peeves in the corridors!" Beyond Peeves, the potions riddle that Harry and Hermione Granger have to solve to reach the Sorcerer's Stone is an important book scene omitted from the movie that will likely be featured given the eight-hour runtime.

Our Take On Harry Potter's Runtime

It Should Work Well For Season 1, But Raises Questions For Future Seasons

An eight-hour runtime provides more justification for the Harry Potter books to be adapted as a television series. It is enough of an increase to ensure that the series will have enough time to be the faithful adaptation it has been promised to be. Since the books gradually become much longer, with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix being the longest in the series, it will be intriguing to see if the runtime of later seasons is increased, or if all Harry Potter seasons will adhere to an eight-hour runtime.

Source: Harry Potter