HBO is known for its high-quality, big-budget TV shows, and it’s making history in the fantasy genre one more time with one of the most expensive TV shows of all time. Many of the best TV shows of all time were possible thanks to HBO, as is the case for The Sopranos, The Wire, Chernobyl, and Game of Thrones. Thanks to them and many others, HBO has become known for its high-quality TV shows and pioneering “prestige TV”, elevating the craft of TV and the watching experience of it.
HBO has explored different genres in its TV shows, but in recent years, it has mostly stood out for its fantasy TV shows. Game of Thrones was key to this new chapter in HBO history, being one of the biggest productions in the fantasy genre and a massive success. With subsequent shows like House of the Dragon and The Last of Us, HBO has further established itself in the world of fantasy, and its takeover will be even greater in December 2026 with the release of the Harry Potter TV show.
Fifteen years after the end of the Harry Potter movie series, the story of The Boy Who Lived is getting a new adaptation, now as a TV show. The first season, appropriately titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, is set for a December 25, 2026, release on HBO and globally on HBO Max, with season two, Chamber of Secrets, starting production in late 2026. Of course, the Harry Potter TV show is a big production, so much so that it’s now one of the most expensive fantasy TV shows.
Adapting the Harry Potter book series to film or TV requires a huge production team. They face a complex but interesting challenge of bringing to life a fantasy world with rules, characteristics, objects, living beings, and more that aren’t real but have to look as realistic as possible to create an immersive experience. The Harry Potter movies succeeded at this and got better in every movie, so the same level of quality and attention to detail is expected from the TV adaptation.
As mentioned above, HBO goes for big-budget TV productions to ensure the best quality, especially in its fantasy shows, and the Harry Potter series isn’t the exception. According to earnings filings from Plum Jam Productions, owned by HBO and which produces the Harry Potter TV show, when the series entered production, revenue hit nearly $175 million, in addition to the revenue in 2024 while preparing for the show, which hit about $25 million (via The Wrap). This puts the budget for the show at over $200 million so far.
It’s important to note that the plan for the Harry Potter TV show is for production to span a decade and run for seven seasons, with each one covering one of the books. With this in mind, and supposing the show does fulfill its seven-season plan, those numbers will increase. Now, according to The Wrap, episodic budgets for the Harry Potter TV show are on par with those of Game of Thrones (around $15 million per episode in its final season), House of the Dragon ($15-20 million), and The Last of Us ($10-15 million).
The Harry Potter TV show being one of the most expensive fantasy shows shouldn’t come as a surprise, as it’s what it needs. As mentioned above, there’s a lot of planning, scouting, designing, and building when it comes to bringing the Wizarding World to life. The Harry Potter TV show needs to build sets that will be used throughout its entire run, plus those unique to each book/season, and there’s also all the post-production and visual effects work that needs to be done.
Such a high budget should give fans of the world of Harry Potter more reassurance about the attention to detail and hard work HBO is putting into the TV show, ensuring that every piece of the wizarding world will be brought to life in the most realistic way possible. Of course, it’s to be seen how well done the wizarding world is in the Harry Potter TV show and how different it is from the one in the movies, but the show is already on its way to success.
