Daniel Radcliffe Isn’t Sure If He’ll Tune Into HBO’s Harry Potter TV Series

Former Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe isn’t sure if he’s going to watch HBO’s TV adaptation of the Wizarding World.

When speaking with The Associated Press, Radcliffe was asked whether or not he plans to watch HBO’s TV series. He gave an honest answer, admitting that he isn’t sure if he will. He noted that, of course, he lived the experience himself for over a decade, but also doesn’t actually watch much TV himself.

“I haven’t seen Breaking Bad. I haven’t seen Mad Men. I haven’t seen some of the, like, the real classics. So, you know, eight hours is a lot of anything to watch.”

“He doesn’t need any advice from me”: Daniel Radcliffe held back on advising Dominic McLaughlin on his portrayal of Harry Potter in the upcoming TV series. Radcliffe voices the prince in the new animated film “Steps.”

#DanielRadcliffe #HarryPotter #DominicMcLaughlin https://t.co/lT2IJdD2ST

— The Associated Press (@AP) November 9, 2026

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Radcliffe’s career is obviously partially defined by Harry Potter. However, he has been very aware that the franchise was bound to be remade and was even quoted back in 2012 about the possibility of such a thing. He was a bit dismissive of the idea at the time, noting he wasn’t totally fond of remakes, saying they make unnecessary changes for the sake of doing something different.

Despite this, Radcliffe has been welcoming to the new Potter cast, and even wrote a letter to Dominic McLaughlin, who is playing Harry in the HBO show. He has asked, however, that the press don’t badger the new cast about following in the footsteps of the films. Radcliffe told Associated Press he’s not interested in giving advice to McLaughlin, as he doesn’t want to “haunt” him and has full trust in him as an actor.

The first season will premiere on HBO next month on Christmas Day, but a second season is already in the works. The plan is to adapt each book into a season of TV, not unlike the films, meaning Season 2 will adapt The Chamber of Secrets. However, the benefit of a show is that you can spend more time with the material and don’t have to cut certain things for time. We’ll see if HBO sticks the landing on this, but it sounds like Radcliffe may not be actively watching from the sidelines.

Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images

Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN’s news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.