Daniel Radcliffe Unsure If He’ll Watch HBO’s ‘Harry Potter’ Series: “Eight Hours Is A Lot Of Anything”

Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter in the film franchise, told the Associated Press at the premiere of Netflix's Steps in New York on Sunday that he is unsure whether he will watch HBO's upcoming Harry Potter series. "I don't know if I will, honestly," Radcliffe said. "I've watched [and] been in a lot of Harry Potter already and also not even because I don't like... I haven't seen any TV. I haven't seen Breaking Bad, I haven't seen Mad Men, I haven't seen some of the real classics. You know, eight hours is a lot of anything to watch." The new HBO series will adapt J.K. Rowling's first book across eight episodes in its inaugural season and is set to premiere on December 25. The reboot's lead role will be played by Dominic McLaughlin.

Radcliffe's comments come amid ongoing discourse surrounding Rowling's views on transgender issues and her role as executive producer on the series. Radcliffe has been a vocal LGBTQ+ ally and publicly distanced himself from Rowling's views. In a 2020 letter published with The Trevor Project, he wrote, "Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I." He also addressed fans who felt their experience of the books had been tarnished, saying, "I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you."

Rowling later responded to Radcliffe and other stars who spoke out. In April 2024, she wrote on X, "Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women's hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces." In an Atlantic profile that same month, Radcliffe said Rowling's transphobia was a source of distress: "It makes me really sad, ultimately, because I do look at the person that I met, the times that we met, and the books that she wrote, and the world that she created, and all of that is to me so deeply empathic." Other cast members have also commented; Bel Powley, cast as Petunia Dursley, told The Telegraph in August, "I think that the trans community deserve safety and dignity and respect and total acceptance." Trans critics have urged viewers not to support the program due to Rowling's financial stake, with Lilly Wachowski stating in September that "if you support Harry Potter, you're supporting trans genocide," a characterization Rowling denied through a representative as "defamatory."