Darcie 
Darcie checks out the new Finding Harry documentary on HBO Max and discovers a treasure trove of Wizarding World treats.
HBO and Warner Bros have given us a super-early sneak peek at the upcoming Harry Potter TV show, which will air on HBO Max on the 25th December 2026. I signed up for HBO Max to watch the Find Harry documentary. I can confirm it is worth signing up if you are a fan of Harry Potter and want to stay up to date on any content relating to the new series.
Finding Harry gives us a deep dive into the creative inspirations behind the new show. The documentary is only 27 minutes long, and in that time, we cover a lot of artistic ground. The documentary is beautifully shot and well edited, and it will get you so excited for the new show. Narrated by Nick Frost, it is split into 5 parts, so let’s explore each part to see what magic was revealed.
CASTING A SPELL
Casting Directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann take us through the process of casting Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Over 20,000 children auditioned for the roles when casting was opened up, meaning every child in the UK could have auditioned. They had two central goals when casting for the gold trio: to find three ordinary children who were actually extraordinary, and to ensure that these extraordinary children would be believable friends.
We are shown snippets from Alistair’s (Ron), Arabella’s (Hermione), and Dominic’s (Harry) auditions, which is so sweet to see. You really get a feel of them in the roles, the roles that will define their careers. Lucy Bevan also mentioned that, when looking for Harry, they were seeking an Artful Dodger, not an Oliver Twist. I think this is so interesting. Will we get to see the more sarcastic, sassy side of Harry in the show? I certainly hope so.
THE MEASURE OF MAGIC
Mara LePere-Schloop, a production Designer on the show, gives us a fantastic look at the creative process. She calls the show a designer’s dream, which makes so much sense. They are not only creating a film set but a whole world of magic. Which is something she touches on, Mara wants audiences to have a magical experience when watching the show, akin to reading the books for the very first time. I love the passion we get to see throughout the show.
We get to see some clips of Hogwarts and Diagon Alley, which whets the appetite. It certainly had me wanting to step onto the sets and explore every detail. The clips of Private Drive are super interesting. We see how it progresses from a model to a fully built set. There is also a real sense that everyone working on this show is either incredibly passionate, like Dominic Sikking, Set Dec Co-Lead Graph Designer, who praises the scale of the sets and the impressive level of detail in every prop. If it can give him goosebumps, imagine how we fans will feel!
THE NATURE OF MAGIC
In this section, Mara deep dives into what has inspired the show’s design choices. How nature has played an important role in creating a cohesive look. Working on the basis that magic comes from nature, and therefore the world takes on a magical realism style. It’s really great to understand this, especially when nature is incorporated into sets, probs and costumes. We also get some fantastic shots of the Herbology and Potions classrooms, which look so magical.
LIFE, HAND CRAFTED!
Creature Effects Design Supervisor, John Nolan, gives us great insight into the creatures department. Exploring how the creation of an animatronic starts with extensive research into nature: if you want to build an owl, you need to understand how they move. The animatronics are really something; they look authentic, they are movable, not solid, which will help the child actors when they interact with them. The attention to detail is remarkable; they made 10 owls for the show, and each one had to have 36,000 feathers individually hand-attached. Just wow!
I love that there is a real legacy vibe to the crew. John, for example, worked on some of the Harry Potter films as a trainee. And Julian Walker, HOD Letter and Decor Artist, is taking over from his father, who designed and painted the first Quidditch Box shown in the first film, and who has now created the Quidditch Box for the show.
WEAVING THE STORY
Costume Designer Holly Waddington talks us through the differences in the Muggle wardrobe and the wizarding wardrobe. The first session is set in 1991, so for the muggles, they really wanted it to feel authentic. They used pastel, cold colors for the Muggle clothes, with a lot of synthetic fabrics to really reflect the time period. In contrast,s the wizards and witches used an inky, moody, natural palette that feeds into the natural look that runs through every element of the show.
So the Hogwarts uniforms are made from UK wool and cotton, with wooden and shell buttons, and Scottish tartan to complete the look. They also brought nature into the costumes by leaf printing and hand-painting to create really unique pieces. Holly remarks that they get to time travel, which is exciting.
VERDICT
In these sections, we hear from John Lithgow, who will be playing Dumbledore; Janet McTeer, who will be playing McGonagall; and Paapa Essiedu, who will be playing Snape. One line from Lithgow that stood out is, “They’re going to grow up in this, and I’m going to grow old with them,” which really impresses the scale of this show upon us.
This is a behind-the-scenes look for film fans like myself, who have always wanted to work on film sets. To see the cameras and the crew working to create magic that will inspire future generations is incredible. I hope we get some more behind-the-scenes looks. And as Nick Frost says at the start, “Some stories change us, some stories define us, but few stories live with us.” Let’s see what Harry Potter on HBO has in store for us.
The new Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone series will launch on HBO Max in 2026. Are you looking forward to the new series? Drop a comment in the chat below.
Darcie Gray is the Fashion Editor of The Future of the Force. Aside from being a passionate Star Wars fan, she loves every genre of movies and she channels her passion for film into her personal blog Just Another Film Blog. Follow her on Twitter where she shares her love of film regularly.
