TV Directors Reject HBO Harry Potter Over Rowling Trans Views
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- Ally Pankiw posted an Instagram screenshot of a text exchange with her WME rep rejecting HBO's Harry Potter, writing 'It simply is this easy to say no to funding transphobia!' and noting the approach was for directing, not acting
- Kate Herron (Loki, Sex Education) commented on Pankiw's post that HBO asked her twice and 'my answer is never gonna change from a no'
- Nicholas Hoult signed on this week as Gilderoy Lockhart, joining a cast that includes John Lithgow (Dumbledore), Janet McTeer (McGonagall), Paapa Essiedu (Snape), Bel Powley (Aunt Petunia), and Nick Frost (Hagrid)
- Bel Powley told The Telegraph she 'strongly disagrees with J.K. Rowling's views on gender' and that 'the trans community deserve safety and dignity and respect and total acceptance'
- The series premieres Dec. 25 on HBO and HBO Max, with season 1 adapting Philosopher's Stone and season 2 (already renewed) adapting Chamber of Secrets
- Rowling declined to comment when Variety reached out to reps for Rowling, Pankiw, Herron, and HBO
Why it matters: Two prominent TV directors publicly rejecting the series highlights a visible creative-versus-IP-owner split for HBO: the network is filling its cast (Hoult, Lithgow, Powley) and has locked a Dec. 25 premiere plus a second season, but directors of Pankiw's and Herron's stature are publicly declining work on the project over Rowling's stance.
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