'Harry Potter' TV series filming in 2025

LONDON

The third season of HBO's hit TV series "The White Lotus" will premiere in February, followed months later by the second instalment of "The Last of Us," Warner Bros. Discovery said Thursday.

Unveiling its upcoming global programming slate, HBO and Max streaming service CEO Casey Bloys also confirmed the much-anticipated "Game of Thrones" prequel "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" is set for release later next year.

Beyond that, the first "Harry Potter" television series, announced last year and currently in casting, is scheduled to start filming in mid-2025 at Warner Bros.'s Leavesden studios in the U.K., Bloys said.

With the mega-selling books' author JK Rowling among its executive producers, it is envisaged as "a decade-long series" featuring a new cast from the films.

"Succession" director and executive producer Mark Mylod revealed at the London announcement event that the casting team were currently reviewing 32,000 submissions for kids' roles.

Award-winning dark comedy "The White Lotus" is this time set in Thailand, with singer Lisa of megastar K-pop girl group Blackpink among the cast, alongside veteran Hollywood star Scott Glenn.

Meanwhile post-apocalyptic drama "The Last of Us", starring Pedro Pascal, picks up where the acclaimed first season released last year ended.

Joined by actress-turned-executive producer Salma Hayek, Bloys also announced that Max has commissioned a second season of HBO's current Spanish-language hit "Like Water for Chocolate."

Based on the best-selling 1989 novel of the same name by Mexican author Laura Esquivel, it has been among the most-watched series on the platform following its release last month.

Bloys said Max was moving beyond what some have called "patchy" programming across the industry following the Hollywood strikes and Covid.

Following the recent success of its first scripted series in France, "The Confidante," it will launch several new French-language shows on the platform next year.

They include a reimagining of "Dangerous Liaisons," Pierre Choderlos de Laclos's classic novel, which will be called "The Seduction" outside of France and stars Diane Kruger.