Netflix’s 3-Part Harry Potter Replacement Has One Of Its Best Casts

Netflix has a three-season answer to HBO Max's Harry Potter, and it happens to have one of the best casts you'll find on the streamer. Streaming platforms should be bracing themselves for December 2026, because when HBO airs the first episodes of the new Harry Potter show, that is all anyone is going to be talking about.

It's been 19 years since Deathly Hallows was published and 15 years since the film finale of the franchise, and interest in the brand has barely faltered. Even if the first season is a disappointment, it's going to be hard to knock viewers off the train. Other streamers will need some strong shows to keep up.

Netflix has one that, while not nearly as big as Harry Potter, is at least a quality fantasy series that shouldn't be overlooked. A Discovery of Witches is a 2018 fantasy show that originally ran on Sky One and then Sky Max. All three complete seasons were later added to Netflix and are still available to be watched.

The show is an adaptation of Deborah Harkness' All Souls Trilogy, and is named after the first book in the series, though the next two books, Shadow of Night and The Book of Life, are covered by A Discovery of Witches seasons 2 and 3, respectively. The series stars Terea Palmer as Diana Bishop, a historian and reluctant witch.

An accomplished professor and researcher at Yale, Diana has rejected her magical heritage. However, after an encounter with a bewitched book at Oxford, Diana is dragged back into a magical world she had been trying to avoid. With the help of vampire biochemist Matthew Clairmont (Matthew Goode), Diana sets out to solve the mysteries hidden within the book.

A Discovery Of Witches Is The Netflix Show Closest To Harry Potter

A Discovery of Witches is about as close as Netflix gets to Harry Potter. The books themselves are very reminiscent of, and are often described as, a mixture of Harry Potter and Twilight. Like Harry Potter, A Discovery of Witches features two worlds living right alongside one another, one magical and the other non-magical.

Like Harry Potter, A Discovery of Witches also focuses on the intersection of learning and magic, and unites the scientific and the fantastical in a digestible way that helps to ground the magic and galvanize the science. Smaller issues lead to bigger quests, and everything is tied up after all hope seems lost.

A Discovery Of Witches Features One Of The Best Casts On Netflix

A Discovery of Witches also succeeds on its incredible, very large ensemble cast. Goode and Palmer are as excellent as ever, and their romance keeps the show breathing through 25 episodes. It's not just the leads who make the series special; however, everyone, down to the one-episode characters, helps build a believable world.

Standouts include Owen Teal of Game of Thrones as Peter Knox, Alex Kingston of ER as Sarah Bishop, Lindsay Duncan of The Morning Show as Ysabeau de Clermont, Anton Lesser of Andor as Rabbi Loew, and Louise Brealey, set to appear in Harry Potter as Madam Hooch, as Gillina Chamberlain, just to name a few.

It's a series that not only finds the perfect leads for a romantic fantasy, but also makes every right decision when it comes to filling in the supporting roles of the series. Like the Harry Potter films before it, and like the Harry Potter series hopes, A Discovery of Witches understands that to make every scene riveting, more than just the main cast has to be a special talent.

Release Date 2018 - 2022-00-00