Harry Potter's Premiere Rewrites The Rules Of HBO Sundays

5 days ago 8

HBO

Published May 3, 2026, 5:45 PM EDT

Memory Ngulube joined Screen Rant in April 2024 as part of the Movies and TV team. Since then, she has written for the Perennials and Streaming team, covering a wide range of topics from new releases to old movies and TV shows. Memory is currently a Classic TV writer.

Before joining Screen Rant, Memory was a freelance copywriter who specialized in email marketing and social media management. While she enjoyed her job, her true passion was always movies and TV.

When she isn’t writing for Screen Rant, Memory can be found reading, baking (which is one of her passions), or watching her favorite K-drama.

The debut of the Harry Potter series is set to disrupt one of TV’s biggest events: HBO Sundays. For years, Sunday night on HBO has been considered the time of day that viewers get to enjoy the best that the network has to offer, whether it’s fantasy TV shows or critically acclaimed dramas.

Historically, HBO’s biggest shows premiere and release new episodes on Sundays. When The Sopranos was airing, new releases were on Sunday, and the same has been true for shows like Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, The Last of Us, The White Lotus, and Euphoria. Essentially, HBO Sundays are a big deal.

With the kind of legacy that Harry Potter has, there was an expectation that the HBO series would be released on Sundays, which is tradition for the Network’s biggest shows. The opposite, however, has happened. The first season of Harry Potter, which will be based on J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, will premiere on Christmas Day, which happens to be a Friday.

Exclusive · Personality Quiz THE SORTING HAT — WHICH HARRY POTTER HOUSE WOULD YOU BE IN? The Sorting Hat Sees All Every witch and wizard who passes through the Great Hall is sorted by the qualities they hold most dear. Ten questions stand between you and your true house. Answer honestly — the Hat can tell when you’re lying.

🦁Gryffindor

🐍Slytherin

🦅Ravenclaw

🦡Hufflepuff

PLACE THE HAT ON YOUR HEAD →

You hear a strange noise coming from a forbidden corridor after curfew. What do you do?What calls to you in the dark?

AGrab your wand and investigate immediately. Someone could be in trouble. BInvestigate quietly and alone. Knowledge of what’s hidden there could be very useful. CResearch the corridor first. There’s probably a reason it’s forbidden, and you want to know what. DTell a trusted friend and go together. Safety in numbers, and it’s no fun alone.

A professor offers you a rare opportunity, but accepting it means letting down a friend. What do you do?Ambition vs. loyalty — a timeless test.

ATurn it down. Your friends come first, always. BTake it. Your friend would do the same, and opportunities like this don’t come twice. CFind a creative solution that lets you do both. There’s always another way if you think hard enough. DTalk to your friend honestly and figure it out together. Communication solves most things.

You find an ancient spellbook with powerful magic — some of it dangerous. How do you handle it?Power, wisdom, caution, or principle?

ATurn it in to a professor. Dangerous magic shouldn’t be floating around. BKeep it hidden and study the useful parts. Knowledge is power, and this is a rare find. CRead every page carefully. Understanding dangerous magic is the best defense against it. DShare it with friends you trust. Something this important shouldn’t be one person’s secret.

A classmate is being bullied by someone more powerful. You barely know the victim. What do you do?What moves you to act?

AStep in immediately, even if it means making an enemy. It’s the right thing to do. BFind a way to undermine the bully without putting yourself at risk. Be strategic. CReport it to a professor. The system exists for a reason — use it. DBefriend the victim afterwards. What they need most right now is someone in their corner.

Which quality do you most want to be known for?What you value most reveals your deepest nature.

ABravery. When things go wrong, I want to be the person who stands up. BResourcefulness. I want to be the person who always finds a way. CWisdom. I want to be the person who truly understands. DKindness. I want to be the person people trust completely.

Your team is losing badly in a high-stakes competition. What’s your move?Pressure reveals character.

ARally everyone with a bold speech and lead by example. Momentum is everything. BExploit the other team’s weakness. There’s always a gap if you’re watching closely enough. CPause and rethink the strategy entirely. Doing the same thing harder won’t work — you need a new plan. DFocus on keeping morale up. A team that trusts each other can come back from anything.

You catch a friend cheating on an important exam. What do you do?Rules, relationships, and right and wrong.

AConfront them directly. If they’re your real friend, they can handle the truth. BSay nothing. It’s their risk to take, and reporting them gains you nothing. CStruggle with it, but ultimately the integrity of the exam matters. You report it anonymously. DTalk to them privately and offer to help them study instead. They clearly need support.

What do you fear most?Your deepest fear says everything about your deepest values.

ABeing a coward when it matters. Failing to act when someone needs me. BBeing ordinary. Living a life where I never reached my full potential. CBeing ignorant. Making decisions based on incomplete understanding. DBeing alone. Losing the people who matter most to me.

Centuries from now, how would you want to be remembered at Hogwarts?The portrait on the wall — what does it say?

AAs someone who fought for what was right, no matter the personal cost. BAs someone who achieved greatness and left a lasting mark on the wizarding world. CAs someone who discovered something extraordinary — a truth no one else could see. DAs someone who was truly good — a person who made others’ lives better just by being there.

The Sorting Hat whispers: “I see everything you are and everything you could become. Tell me — what matters to you above all else?”The final question. Answer from your soul.

AThe courage to do what’s right, even when I’m terrified. I’d rather be brave for one moment than safe for a lifetime. BThe drive to become who I’m meant to be. I won’t settle, and I won’t apologize for wanting more. CThe pursuit of understanding. The truth is more beautiful and more important than comfort. DThe people I love and the bonds I’ve built. Everything else is just noise without the people beside you.

THE HAT HAS DECIDED →

THE SORTING HAT HAS SPOKEN YOU BELONG IN…

🦁

“Where dwell the brave at heart, their daring, nerve, and chivalry set Gryffindors apart.”

You lead with your heart and your gut. When something is wrong, you can’t just stand there — you have to act, even when the odds are terrible and the smart move is to walk away. You’re the person people look to in a crisis, not because you’re fearless, but because you move forward when you’re afraid. Your moral compass is loud, your loyalty is fierce, and your courage can be reckless — but the world needs people like you.

Values: Courage, chivalry, determination, standing up for what’s right
Watch out for: Recklessness, a hero complex, and leaping before you look
Famous Gryffindors: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall

🐍

“Those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends.”

You have a vision for your life, and you’re not going to let politeness or convention stand in the way. You’re strategic, perceptive, and deeply ambitious — not necessarily for power itself, but for the freedom and influence that come with being exceptional. You read rooms, you play the long game, and you don’t waste energy on fights you can’t win. People underestimate your depth at their own risk.

Values: Ambition, resourcefulness, determination, self-preservation
Watch out for: Isolation, ruthlessness, and mistaking cunning for wisdom
Famous Slytherins: Severus Snape, Merlin, Regulus Black, Horace Slughorn

🦅

“Wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure.”

Your mind is your greatest asset, and you know it. You’re drawn to ideas, puzzles, and the kind of deep understanding that most people don’t have the patience for. You question everything — not to be difficult, but because accepting easy answers feels dishonest. You value originality, creativity, and intellectual independence. The library isn’t just a building to you — it’s a sanctuary.

Values: Wisdom, creativity, learning, intellectual curiosity
Watch out for: Overthinking, detachment, and valuing being right over being kind
Famous Ravenclaws: Luna Lovegood, Filius Flitwick, Garrick Ollivander, Cho Chang

🦡

“Those patient Hufflepuffs are true and unafraid of toil.”

You are the heart of every group you belong to. You don’t need to be the hero of the story — you need the people in the story to be okay. Your loyalty isn’t performative; it’s bone-deep. You show up, you do the work, and you treat people with a decency that the wizarding world desperately needs more of. You’re not soft — you’re strong in the way that actually holds everything together.

Values: Loyalty, patience, fairness, hard work, kindness
Watch out for: Being taken for granted, avoiding conflict, and forgetting your own needs
Famous Hufflepuffs: Newt Scamander, Nymphadora Tonks, Cedric Diggory, Pomona Sprout

↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

This might come as a surprise given how significant HBO Sundays are. However, upon closer look, it makes perfect sense. Friday night is the start of the highest TV and streaming consumption window, which HBO uses to launch big and widely appealing titles. With Harry Potter being released on a Friday, the network is signalling that it wants to tap into global audiences through HBO Max.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone will be released during the holidays, so kids will obviously be home. However, that won’t be the case for every weekly release, as the show’s target audience will at some point have to return to school. With new episodes premiering on Friday, HBO will be able to get the younger audiences to watch the series because Saturday isn’t a school day, as opposed to if new releases premiered on Sunday nights.

Warner Bros. Discovery Has Big Plans For HBO's Harry Potter

The announcement of Harry Potter coming to the small screen was met with different views. Some fans were happy that the show had the opportunity to include things that the movies didn’t have enough time for, while others took the if it's not broke, don’t fix it approach. Regardless of the opinions that are continuously streaming in about the fate of the franchise, one thing’s for sure: the Harry Potter series will change streaming as we know it.

Warner Bros. Discovery, thankfully, sees the kind of potential that the HBO Potter series has. J.B. Perrette, the CEO and President of Global Streaming and Games at WBD, has remarked that Harry Potter will be “The biggest streaming event in the history of HBO Max and arguably in streaming, period” (via Deadline).

Due to the scale of the Harry Potter franchise and its global appeal, particularly in Europe, HBO announced that it would be launching in the UK and Ireland. The European market is obviously important to the Harry Potter stories, as that’s where the titular character hails from. Securing that market is not only a big win for HBO, but for Warner Bros. Discovery as well.

Source: Deadline