HBO's Harry Potter Plans to Outpace Percy Jackson

HBO's upcoming Harry Potter series is aiming to avoid the long gaps between seasons that have affected other fantasy shows. Set for viewers to unwrap this Christmas, the adaptation carries a reported production cost of $100 million per episode. By comparison, the Hulu/Disney+ Percy Jackson and the Olympians waited two years between its first and second seasons, premiering Season 1 in December 2023 and Season 2 in December 2025.

That series cost roughly $12 million to $15 million per episode, making its entire first season—about $96 million to $120 million—roughly equivalent to a single Harry Potter episode. HBO is already moving quickly: Variety announced May 6, 2026 that the network plans to begin production on Season 2 by fall 2026 and shoot seasons 1 and 2 back-to-back.

With eight episodes planned for Season 1 and an estimated $800 million initial outlay, the seven-season run could total roughly $4 billion to $5 billion.

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