With John Lithgow set as Professor Dumbledore, HBO’s “Harry Potter” TV series is now filling out the rest of the staff at Hogwarts school.
Deadline reports that Janet McTeer (“The Old Man,” “Kaos,” “The Menu”) is in negotiations to play Professor Minerva McGonagall in the project. In addition, the previously rumored Emmy nominee Paapa Essiedu (“The Lazarus Project,” “Black Doves”) is closing his deal to play Professor Severus Snape.
HBO declined to comment, telling the trade: “We appreciate that such a high-profile series will draw a lot of rumor and speculation. As we make our way through pre-production, we will only confirm details as we finalize deals.”
The series, which has been designed to run over a decade, comes from writer-showrunner Francesca Gardiner and director/executive producer Mark Mylod with plans for a “faithful adaptation” of the novels with each season able to do a ‘deep dive’ in ways the films could not.
That includes sticking closer to the canonical age of Snape who is only 31. The Dursleys will also be cast younger than they were in the films.
McTeer is also a few years younger than Maggie Smith when she was cast as Deputy Headmistress McGonagall. The series will be filmed at Warner Bros Studios Leavesden and is slated to debut on HBO in late 2026 or early 2027.
