Warner Bros sued by UK network over Harry Potter TV series

Warner Bros.’ upcoming Harry Potter series has already found itself in hot water thanks to a pending lawsuit from Sky Group.

Although the franchise already has eight movies under its belt, HBO and Warner Bros. are currently working on a new Harry Potter TV series.

The show is in its infancy as a casting call for some of the major characters was sent out just recently, but it looks like the companies behind it will have their hands full before the cameras even start rolling.

Sky Group, a long time distributor for Warner Bros. in the UK, filed a lawsuit on September 27 accusing the studio of “breaching their agreement by refusing to partner on the upcoming Harry Potter TV series,” per Variety.

Warner Bros.

The case was filed in a federal court in New York and outlined how Warner Bros. was “obligated to offer four Max series per year to be co-financed and co-produced by Sky and distributed exclusively to Sky viewers in the UK and other European territories.”

According to the suit, Warner Bros. has been allegedly dodging Sky Group in an attempt to cut them out of having any ties to the upcoming series.

“Warner’s reason for refusing to honor its obligations to Sky could not be more clear,” the lawsuit reads. “Warner has chosen to keep the Harry Potter Series for itself and make the blockbuster Series the cornerstone of its own Max rollout in Europe.”

The company also alleged that Warner Bros. purposely kept them in the dark in an attempt to run out their contract together, which is set to expire in 2025 whereas the studio is set to fully launch Max, their HBO attached streaming service, across the UK in 2026 around the same time the Harry Potter series is supposedly set to premiere.

Warner Bros. Pictures

Sky Group wrote that Warner Bros. executives said the series had not been “ordered” despite the company publicly mentioning its intention to get it off the ground in April 2023 along with “a string of announcements over the last year about casting and additions to the creative team of the show.”

A Warner Bros. spokesperson has responded to these claims in a statement obtained by Variety which reads in part that the lawsuit is “a baseless attempt by Sky and Comcast to try and gain leverage.”

The statement continued, “WBD will vigorously defend itself from this unfounded lawsuit as we move forward undeterred with plans to launch Max, including the new HBO Harry Potter series, in the UK and other European markets in 2026.” 

For more, check out our guide to the most binge-worthy TV shows, the best shows to stream in September, and all the new true crime and documentaries streaming this month.