7 Most Valid Criticisms Of The Harry Potter Franchise That The TV Reboot Can Fix

The Harry Potter franchise has faced a lot of criticism over the years, but there are a few valid complaints that HBO’s remake could address. Overall, Harry’s story has been loved for generations. The wizarding world and its themes have something to offer to audiences of all ages, and this has allowed Harry Potter to stand the test of time. However, it’s far from perfect. There are a few details about this fictional world and the way it was constructed that are a little hard to swallow. Thankfully, the upcoming reboot is a chance to make subtle changes for the better.

HBO’s Harry Potter TV remake, which is expected to begin streaming in 2026, will dedicate entire seasons to each of J.K. Rowling’s books, and this means an opportunity for a book-faithful screen adaptation at long last. Fans will be eager to see some of the events that the Harry Potter movies missed, and there is some room to more overtly dive into some of the extended canon that has been explored since the books concluded. Of course, HBO must avoid making too many changes to the story of Harry Potter, but that isn’t to say the series can’t address some fair complaints.

7 There Aren’t Enough Good Slytherin Students In Harry Potter

The Harry Potter Remake Can Redeem The Slytherins

Slytherin and Gryffindor’s rivalry plays a significant role in Harry Potter, and this certainly shouldn’t change in the upcoming reboot. This sense of competition truly drives the plot along, and Harry and Draco must have that innate prejudice against one another throughout the series. However, one of the more frustrating aspects of Harry Potter is that every single Slytherin student mentioned throughout the series was an awful person. There were several good Slytherin adults spattered throughout, but the students themselves were all pretty despicable.

Since the Harry Potter books are from Harry’s perspective, and he was pitted against Slytherin from day one, it makes some sense that he wouldn’t notice any of the good eggs. However, a TV show would have a somewhat broader perspective. After so many years of fans growing to love Slytherin (or identify with the house themselves), the upcoming series must portray the house in a more realistic light. What’s more, it would be nice if all the Hogwarts teachers didn’t seem to despise Slytherin as well.

6 The Girl Students Of Hogwarts Aren’t Portrayed Well

The Girls Of Hogwarts Were Either Athletes Or Boy-Crazy, With Very Little In Between

Just as the Slytherins got the short end of the stick in Harry Potter, the female students of Hogwarts didn’t come across so well, either. There are certainly some good and well-represented girls in Gryffindor, such as Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Angelina Johnson, and Katie Bell, but the rest are often depicted as boy-obsessed and somewhat vapid. Best friends Lavender Brown and Pavarti Patil were relentless gossips, while other girls like Romilda Vane and her posse were entirely obsessed with slipping boys’ love potions.

Once again, the Harry Potter books, being from the perspective of a teenage boy, added to this problem. Harry mostly interacted with girls on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and they were considered different from the other girls. He even thought in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince that he was glad that Ginny didn’t “giggle” like the gaggles of girls he saw moving around Hogwarts in search of boys. While 16-year-old Harry can be forgiven for this perspective, it would be nice if the HBO remake didn’t limit girl characters to either being athletes or boy-crazy.

5 The Adults Of Harry Potter Were Far Too Clueless

The Golden Trio Were The Only Ones Who Knew What Was Going On

Clueless adults are a bit of a staple of YA literature, and this is especially prevalent in the early Harry Potter books. In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry, Ron, and Hermione seemed to be the only characters with any idea of what was going on. They got past the obstacles guarding the Philosopher’s Stone, though full-grown wizards had set them up to be impenetrable, and they were the only ones who figured out the location of the Chamber of Secrets and that it was a basilisk terrorizing the school.

This works for a couple of children’s stories, but Harry Potter has evolved into so much more than that. Therefore, it’s important that HBO’s remake be a little more intentional with the adult characters’ involvement in these stories. This might be a little harder to pull off since the Golden Trio has to be the one to solve these mysteries. The Harry Potter TV show will likely expand into other characters’ perspectives, so the best way to fix the adult problem is to dive into Dumbledore’s decision-making. Perhaps it could be revealed that the headmaster purposely allowed these kids to solve the mysteries (much to McGonagall’s frustration).

4 The Wizarding World Is Full Of Magical Inconsistencies

HBO’s Remake Can Be A Little More Cohesive

One of the more confusing aspects of Harry Potter‘s wizarding world is how magic is used. It has long been a frustration that potions like Veritaserum exist but that they are rarely used in situations where they would be needed. Sneakoscopes—even cheap ones—are revealed to be effective at alerting a wizard when someone is being deceptive, but they are rarely featured in Harry Potter (along with Foe Glasses or other Dark detecting devices that would have been handy). Pensieves, Time-Turners, Portkeys—the way these magical items are utilized is horribly inconsistent.

The Harry Potter books make some effort to explain this, but they weren’t altogether successful. For example, it’s explained that Time-Turners are regulated by the Ministry of Magic, so not just any witch or wizard can use them. However, the fact that they gave one to a 14-year-old-girl for school work contradicts this strict regulation. Potions like Verituserum and Polyjuice potion are meant to be difficult to make and, therefore, limited in use, but Hermione was, again, able to get around this. HBO’s Harry Potter remake just needs to tighten up the rules a bit.

3 Many Character Deaths Didn’t Get The Attention They Should

The Harry Potter Remake Will Likely Extend The Battle Of Hogwarts

Many characters died in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but only some of them got the attention that they deserved. Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks were only revealed to be dead after the fact, and there was no time to explore how their deaths impacted any of the other characters. Fred got his own impactful death scene in books (the Harry Potter movies woefully skipped over this), but his family’s mourning was cut short by the joy of Voldemort’s death and the end of the series.

Harry couldn’t be everywhere during the Battle of Hogwarts, so it makes sense that the books couldn’t show every major character’s death. The movies had the opportunity to show multiple perspectives, but there simply wasn’t enough time. This is where HBO’s TV remake has an edge. the Battle of Hogwarts is sure to be a multi-episode event, and there will be time to show different duels within the battle. What’s more, there will be time to continue the story beyond Harry and Voldmeort’s duel, allowing characters (and audiences) time to mourn their losses.

2 The Death Eaters Were Dirty & Grungy

In Harry Potter, Dirty Equals Death Eater

It’s always easy to spot a villain in the Harry Potter franchise. The books would always describe them as stupid and ugly, while the movies gave these characters a grungy, greasy look that gave their Dark wizard status away. This is another standard staple of YA fantasy. The lines between good and evil are fairly clear, and the standard is that good equals attractive and clean, while evil equals dirty and ugly. However, the more complex themes of Harry Potter point out the ambiguity of real-world morality, and with an older audience base, HBO’s remake can make adjustments to the Death Eaters.

Voldemort and his followers all believe that they are superior because they believe in blood purity. Therefore, it makes sense that they would present themselves as such. Rather than dirty and grungy, Death Eaters should be proud and sophisticated, though every bit as evil. An existing example of this is the Malfoys, who are high class and look down their noses at everyone else. This should be the appeal of Voldemort’s movement, and without dirty villains, it makes far more sense that the Ministry wouldn’t know friend from foe.

1 Questionable Characters Were Overly Glorified

Harry Gained Respect For Dumbledore & Snape, But He Didn’t Have To Name His Son After Him

The Harry Potter series made a lot of great points about morality, placing most characters in a grey area rather than having them definitively make good or bad decisions. Albus Dumbledore is a prime example. Harry started off thinking that the old headmaster could do no wrong, but by the end, he recognized that he hadn’t been so easy to define. Snape is another example, though his shift was the opposite—with Harry first despising the man before growing to respect him. This is all well and good. However, by the end of the series, some pretty horrible characters were still given too much leeway.

While it’s fine that Harry learned to appreciate the good in Dumbledore and Snape, they both still did horrible things to the Boy Who Lived. Therefore, naming his son after both might have been taking things too far. The same is true for James, who, though Harry’s father, was far from innocent. Harry Potter fans have long argued that Harry’s kids’ names were pretty horrible, so while this change might be a little less likely, it’s always possible that the Harry Potter reboot would make an adjustment here. Changes to canon aren’t typically appreciated, but fans might be willing to make an exception in this case.

Harry Potter

Harry Potter is HBO’s remake of the iconic Wizarding World film series that consisted of eight films between 2001 and 2011. Each season adapts a book from JK Rowling’s popular series and provides more book-accurate details than the movies did. Upon the announcement of the Harry Potter TV show, the series received harsh criticism for the involvement of Rowling and for many thinking a reboot was unnecessary.