Is HBO Losing the New Harry Potter Series to Netflix?

Well, I did not have this on my 2025 bingo card: Netflix says it is buying Warner Bros. for roughly $82.7 billion. That means HBO, HBO Max, the film and TV studios, the whole legacy library — all of it — would roll under Netflix if regulators sign off. The headline question for a lot of you: what does that do to the upcoming Harry Potter series? Short answer: still murky.

What Netflix says is happening

• Netflix announced a definitive agreement to acquire Warner Bros., including its film and TV studios, HBO, and HBO Max, in a deal valued at about $82.7 billion.
• This comes after a weeks-long bidding fight that also included David Ellison's Paramount Skydance and Comcast.
• Netflix says it will run Warner Bros. without major disruption and lean on the studio's theatrical strengths rather than gutting them.
• In the near term, HBO Max would remain its own separate service. At the same time, Netflix plans to fold HBO and HBO Max shows into Netflix's lineup.
• The pitch to consumers is simple: more titles in more places, easier to find. The reality is going to be more complicated while the dust settles and regulators weigh in.

"I know some of you are surprised we are making this acquisition. We have signed a deal and we are running full speed toward regulatory approval."

So... where does this leave the new Harry Potter series?

This is where things get confusing. The Harry Potter TV adaptation is still an HBO project. There is no confirmation it is shifting to Netflix, even with Netflix now trying to buy the studio that owns it. Expect a lot of corporate chess before anyone slaps a streaming logo on that show.

HBO Max's head of original content, Sarah Aubrey, has been out there calling the series 'delightful' and reassuring fans it sticks closely to J.K. Rowling's books. The plan is straightforward: each season adapts one novel, in order. The series is in production and expected to premiere in 2027.

The library question (and why everyone is buzzing)

Ted Sarandos is clearly dreaming about one giant shelf where Warner Bros. classics like Casablanca and Citizen Kane and comfort hits like Friends and Harry Potter sit next to Netflix pillars like Stranger Things and Squid Game — and, yes, he even name-checked KPop Demon Hunters. The vision is tidy. The execution is not.

Keeping HBO Max as a separate app while also piping HBO shows into Netflix is a very 'only-in-streaming' solution that will play out in phases, not overnight. It also raises a ton of practical questions: who gets what window, which shows land where first, how theatrical slates feed into streaming — and what happens if regulators push back on any of this.

Bottom line

Netflix is trying to buy Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion, and it is already talking up a blended library. But the new Harry Potter series remains an HBO show for now, with a 2027 premiere on the books and a book-per-season approach. Until the deal clears and the lawyers stop redlining distribution plans, assume more marketing hype than immediate change on your home screen.