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Harry Potter‘s changes take advantage of the long-form medium, meaning the TV show will give the story time to breathe. It’s the big advantage of television, and it should mean viewers get a much deeper sense of the wizarding world; oddly, it may well form a better foundation for future spinoffs, because everything will have been considered from the start. Surprisingly, though, the most exciting change is nothing to do with magic at all. It’s about Harry’s life before Hogwarts.
The First Harry Potter Trailer Shows a Lot of Harry’s Life Before Hogwarts
HBO’s first look teaser spends quite a bit of time fleshing out Harry’s time with the Dursleys. That decision is understandable; it’s early days, Harry Potter doesn’t release until Christmas, and VFX work on the magical side of things will be unfinished. In contrast, scenes set at Privet Drive, Harry’s school, and even on the London Underground will have been completed. There’s a sense, then, in which HBO simply showed viewers what was ready.
But it’s also a smart choice. Harry Potter riffs on the classic Hero’s Journey, which means you need to establish the world your characters operate in first, before then introducing the call to adventure – the invitation to Hogwarts – and the spectacular reality Harry is entering into. The better Harry’s pre-Hogwarts life is established, the more impactful his journey will be. The trailer makes it abundantly clear we’ll be spending a lot more time with the Dursleys than the films do, and that’s a smart call.
The Dursleys Look Like Much Better Characters in the Harry Potter TV Show
The Dursleys aren’t really characters in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, but rather are more akin to caricatures. That’s a deliberate decision on J.K. Rowling’s part, because she intended this to be a children’s book, and the Dursleys were essentially one-note antagonists akin to the ugly stepsisters in Cinderella; they existed purely to make Harry’s life a misery so he could find joy and belonging at Hogwarts. The films played up to this angle too, but both the books and the movies struggled when it became necessary to flesh them out. Rowling struggled to escape those early caricatures.
This is the advantage of adapting a story when the full tale has been told. Writers and showrunners already know all the Dursleys’ secrets, so they can hint at their hidden depths right from the start. No. 4 Privet Drive has toned down the exaggeration of the films, perfectly creating the kind of house you’d expect from middle-class strivers in 1990s Britain. Bel Powley’s Aunt Petunia is a highlight of the trailer, in a scene where she cuts Harry’s hair; it may sound like a non-scene, but anyone familiar with the books knows Harry’s unkempt hair grows back overnight as a magical act of rebellion.
The Harry Potter trailer plays the Petunia scene as deeply symbolic. She’s actively trying to repress Harry’s magic, but it’s an innate part of him that naturally resists such repression. All this leads to a moment where she’s disturbingly aggressive, jabbing the scissors in Harry’s face as she insists he’s nothing special. Powley’s performance is absolutely tremendous, capturing Petunia’s building frustration and showing an unpleasant anger. She may justify her acts as an attempt to protect Harry, but she’s so very wrong.
Dudley Dursley’s Story Looks More Exciting Too
Amos Kitson’s Dudley Dursley looks excellent, too. This is an early Dudley, a spoiled only child whose own insecurity means he preys on the weak. Unlike the books, the relationship between Harry and Dudley looks to be a major focus at the beginning of the Harry Potter series; we get an extended scene where Dudley is bullying Harry, chasing him through school corridors with future gang members at his side. It foreshadows Dudley’s evolution as the story goes on, helping make him feel so much more real.
This isn’t a criticism of the movies, of course. A film has a shorter runtime than a TV show, meaning writers and directors have to choose what to focus on; they rightly centered their stories on the magic of Hogwarts. But the long-form format of a TV series is perfect for establishing deeper characters, exploring themes in greater depth, and really creating different worlds. The Harry Potter TV adaptation really couldn’t look much more exciting.
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