For all the magic the Harry Potter films gave us, they also came with a trade: eight movies, seven increasingly huge books, and only so many minutes to squeeze in entire subplots, character arcs, and bits of worldbuilding that made Hogwarts feel like a living, breathing place.

That’s why the upcoming Harry Potter TV series is such an intriguing second shot. Warner Bros. Discovery and cast members have both described it as a “faithful adaptation” of the seven-book saga, built to “dive deep into each of the iconic books,” with an all-new cast and a long runway to tell the story in full. 

And while we’re still a ways out from actually seeing it (the current plan is an early 2027 debut on HBO and HBO Max where available), the series’s format gives it a real chance to restore what the movies simply couldn’t fit. 

So: What should the series bring back first?

1) Peeves (and the chaos of Hogwarts)

Let’s start with the most obvious missing ghost-shaped hole: Peeves the Poltergeist.

In the books, if we’re being honest, Hogwarts is a barely-contained castle of chaos. Peeves is a constant force of disruption, sometimes annoying, sometimes (but less frequently) useful, and always a reminder that the castle has its own personality and can’t be controlled. Without him, the films’ Hogwarts can feel… a bit too tidy.

A TV series can reintroduce Peeves the way he’s meant to work: as background humor and danger that pays off over time (especially when the school starts sliding toward open rebellion in the later years).

2) The Marauders’ story 

The films give us fragments, names and too-quick flashbacks, but the books give us an entire backstory:

  • Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs (The films never actually connected the map and their nicknames to James and his friends)
  • the full significance of their friendship
  • the betrayal that shaped Harry’s childhood before he was even born
  • the heartbreak of who survived and who didn’t

A longer format could finally show the Marauders as the backstory that explains why Sirius connects with Harry instantly, why Lupin carries so much shame, and why Peter Pettigrew is one of the series’ scariest villains. And it’s surprising because it’s actually because he’s actually a coward, and those can be the most dangerous types of people.

3) Ginny Weasley: an actual person

This is the one that still stings, because the books are so clear about who Ginny is: funny, fierce, observant, and one of the bravest people in the story.

The films, constrained by time (and sometimes tone), often reduce Ginny’s arc to a handful of moments that don’t fully earn the romance or her role as a future leader in the resistance. If the TV series wants one easy win it’s this: Let Ginny grow up on-screen the way she does on the page, year by year, until it’s painfully obvious why Harry falls for her.

4) The Weasleys’ full family dynamic (including the messy bits)

Speaking of the Weasleys: The films capture the warmth of the Burrow, but they streamline the family. A series can bring back what makes the Weasleys feel real:

  • Percy’s ambition and eventual break (and return)
  • Bill and Fleur’s relationship before Shell Cottage becomes a war hideout
  • Fred and George as more than comic relief (though don’t leave the comedy out, obviously)
  • Molly’s fear and flaws underneath the ferocity

The books make the Weasleys the emotional stronghold of the wizarding world. A show can do that too if it gives them the time.

5) Voldemort’s backstory (the memories that explain him)

Half-Blood Prince is one of the most important installments because it is the book that turns Voldemort from a typical cartoon villain into an exploration of obsession and self-mythology.

The Gaunt family. The orphanage. The early cruelty. The methodical creation of Horcruxes. (How does one actually create a Horcrux anyway?) 

The films hit the broad strokes, but the show could finally make the Tom Riddle thread as rich and disturbing as it’s meant to be.

6) The full “Hogwarts education” feeling: classes, homework, and daily life

This sounds small until you realize it’s one of the books’ biggest strengths: Hogwarts feels like a school. Groundbreaking, we know.

Hogwarts is a place with familiar routines, rivalries, awkward lessons, exhausting homework, petty gossip, and day-to-day details that make the magic believable. It feels alive. It’s one of the reasons the books feel so cozy despite the potentially world-ending threat of Voldemort looming over pretty much every story.

Do this well and Hogwarts becomes a home to us as well.

7) S.P.E.W. and the darker truth of the wizarding world

One of the things the books do is say: this world you love? It’s also unfair.

Hermione’s S.P.E.W. storyline (her campaign for house-elf rights) is complicated, sometimes clumsy, sometimes frustrating, and intentionally so. It’s a teenage attempt to fix an ancient system of oppression that everyone has normalized.

The films avoid this thread, likely because it asks uncomfortable questions and requires more time to explore nuance than they had to spare. But a TV series has the space to do what the books do best: Let the audience sit with (and debate) contradictions.

If the show wants to feel deeper than “good vs. evil,” this is an interesting place to start.

8) The Quidditch World Cup (and the wider wizarding world)

The Goblet of Fire film gives us a taste and then yanks it away. In the book, the World Cup is one of our biggest windows into the global wizarding community and then the terror of the Dark Mark in a place that was supposed to be safe.

A TV season can make the World Cup what it should be: A spectacular high point that becomes a turning point. And show us the actual match for Merlin’s sake. Please, we beg.

9) St. Mungo’s, Neville’s parents, and what war really costs

The films eventually tell a war story, but they sometimes soften its long-term consequences. The books don’t.

Neville’s visits to St. Mungo’s are so sad because they’re quiet. They show you what happens when evil breaks people, the people who love them, and remind you of the future they might have had.

If the series includes this (and does it with care), it deepens Neville as a character and makes the stakes feel more real.

10) The slow build of the final year: fear, resistance, and rebellion

Deathly Hallows is a road story, yes, but it’s also about what’s happening back at Hogwarts while the Trio are gone.

A TV series can finally show, in fuller detail:

  • the Carrows’ regime and cruelty
  • Dumbledore’s Army as an underground movement
  • Ginny, Neville, and Luna as leaders (please!)
  • the Room of Requirement as a safe space of refuge

When the Battle of Hogwarts comes, it should feel like the end of a year-long pressure cooker.

The real “fix” is time

If the upcoming series truly commits to its stated goal, adapting the books in a way that lets the story “dive deep” and breathe, then the biggest omissions are things that will both differentiate and elevate it.

Photos: HBO and Warner Brothers.