Despite Transphobia, J.K. Rowling Is Producing New Harry Potter Series

Ready or not, a brand new Harry Potter series is headed to HBO Max.

Sigh.

Earlier today, after sharing HBO Max and Discovery+ are officially being combined into a new service titled Max, the streaming service officially announced that a new series is moving forward into production.

According to Variety, "Each season of the show will be based on one of the books in the franchise, with Warner Bros. Discovery describing the show as a 'decade-long series.' It will feature an entirely new cast from the films."

“We are delighted to give audiences the opportunity to discover Hogwarts in a whole new way,” said Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO & Max Content. “Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon and it is clear there is such an enduring love and thirst for the Wizarding World. In partnership with Warner Bros. Television and J.K. Rowling, this new Max Original series will dive deep into each of the iconic books that fans have continued to enjoy for all of these years.”

You read that right. Despite J.K. Rowling's recent transphobic tirades, the original author of the series is still attached to the upcoming HBO Max show. “Max’s commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I’m looking forward to being part of this new adaptation which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long-form television series,” she said. Rowling will serve as an executive producer.

Many LGBTQ+ fans have — understandably —had trouble separating the art from the artist as of late. In the last few years, Rowling has openly opposed transgender people and rights on social media platforms.

In 2020 Rowling defended her anti-trans beliefs in an essay she published on her website, Out reports. "In the essay, she says that she’s been 'interested' in trans issues for years, but when she started to like tweets by people who are 'great believers in the importance of biological sex' and don’t 'believe lesbians should be called bigots for not dating trans women with penises' she says she started receiving increased levels of hate online

Rowling also wrote that "businesses were 'allowing any man who says they identify as a woman into the women’s changing rooms,' and tried to defend TERFs (trans-exclusionary radical feminists) from accusations of transphobia by misgendering trans men and saying they aren’t trans-exclusionary as 'they include trans men in their feminism because they were born women.'

The author has been a lighting rod for debate among queer folks who love Harry Potter but don't want to support her financially. When asked, "How do you sleep at night knowing you've lost a whole audience from buying your books?", Rowling responded on Twitter, "I read my most recent royalty cheques and find the pain goes away pretty quickly."

Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint have all come out in public support of the transgender community following Rowling's comments. Most recently, Radcliffe sat down with a group of trans and nonbinary kids to talk about their lives and experiences.

After today's announcement, Bloys declined to comment on Rowling's involvement. “I don’t think this is the forum,” he said. “That’s a very online conversation, very nuanced and complicated and not something we’re going to get into. Our priority is what’s on the screen. Obviously, theHarry Potter story is incredibly affirmative and positive and about love and self-acceptance. That’s our priority — what’s on screen.”