HBO's Harry Potter series cast Jasper Talbot and Hannah Chinn as Harry's parents and Harry Gilby as Charlie Weasley. Season 1 arrives Dec. 25.
HBO's Harry Potter series has filled three more roles. According to Variety, which reported the news on Tuesday, Oct. 27, Jasper Talbot will play James Potter, Hannah Chinn will play Lily Potter, and Harry Gilby will play Charlie Weasley. All three appear in Season 1, which premieres on HBO on Dec. 25.
Who is playing whom
Talbot and Chinn take on Harry's parents, who show up in the movies only in flashbacks, photographs and magical manifestations, as Variety puts it. Gilby is cast as Charlie, Ron Weasley's older brother. Variety notes that Charlie is a minor character in the books and never appears in the films, which means the show is already doing something the movies skipped.
Season 1 is titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Dominic McLaughlin plays Harry, Arabella Stanton is Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout is Ron. John Lithgow is Dumbledore, Janet McTeer is McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu is Snape and Nick Frost is Hagrid, according to Variety's cast rundown.
Where the show stands
The Season 1 premiere date is Dec. 25. Season 2, based on the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, is already in production at Leavesden Studios outside London. Variety lists Kit Harington as Gilderoy Lockhart, Bonnie Hill as Ginny Weasley, Lenny Rush as Dobby and Billy Barratt as Tom Riddle among the Season 2 additions.
Francesca Gardiner writes and executive produces the series, and Mark Mylod executive produces and directs multiple episodes. HBO makes it with Brontë Film and TV and Warner Bros. Television. J.K. Rowling is also an executive producer.
What we do not know yet
The reporting does not say how many scenes the three new actors have, or whether Charlie gets a bigger storyline than he has in the books. Variety does not give a U.S. streaming detail beyond the HBO premiere date, so check HBO and its streaming service closer to Dec. 25 for where to watch.
Our take
This is opinion. Casting the parents now is a smart read of the books. Lily and James sit at the emotional center of Harry's story, and a series with more room than a two-hour movie can let them be people instead of a quick flashback. Adding Charlie is a smaller choice, but it suggests the writers want the Weasley household to feel full.
The risk is the usual one for an adaptation. Fans will measure every addition against the films and the books at once. We would rather see a few extra characters done well than a faithful checklist, but we will not know until the episodes land on Christmas Day.
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Picture credit: Warner Bros. / HBO via harrypotter.com. Design: Savvy VibeZ
