International Insider: The Potterverse Reawakens; Series Mania; ‘SNL UK’ Defies Expectations

Scoopio! Harry Potter waved his magic wand on Wednesday and became the talk of the industry, while Deadline headed to France for the influential Series Mania Forum. Jesse Whittock here taking you through a hugely significant week for international film and TV.Read on and sign up here.

Potterverse Reawakens

You’re a TV star, Harry: So now we know when the Harry Potter TV watchalong parties will begin – Christmas 2026. As HBO Max geared up to finally launch in the UK and Ireland (more below), first a teaser image and then a trailer dropped for the TV series version of the JK Rowling books. Not only that, but we also got a title, and it was Harry Potter: The TV Series: The New Era. I am JOKING. Like the first film that made Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint household names, it will be called Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. The trailer vibe was pretty familiar too – Nick Frost as Hagrid, for example, looks like Nick Frost as Robbie Coltrane playing Hagrid. It will take a while for people to get used to new versions of such beloved movie characters. Over at Series Mania, HBO originals chief Sarah Aubrey was effusive in her admiration for the production, telling me her “jaw was on the floor” when she visited the set at Leavesden. She later took to the Series Mania stage and said the series represents “a financial investment that normally you wouldn’t make with a television show.” It’s going to be a big deal, in every sense. Back across the English channel, HBO and Warner Bros. Discovery top brass Casey Bloys and J.B. Perrette were on hand to unveil HBO Max to the UK and Ireland. Perrette told Deadline this launch has been “years, if not decades, in the making.” Ironic it comes after Paramount CEO David Ellison said the post WBD merger plan was to bring streaming together with Paramount+. I quizzed both Aubrey and Bloys about the future and Aubrey responded that “David Ellison has articulated a real commitment to supporting specifically HBO.” Bloys, who had a much talked-about lunch with Ted Sarandos recently, praised Paramount for having “a lot of properties that would do well” on HBO Max.

Europe Seeks Its Voice At Series Mania

Channelling Churchill: The narrative in European scripted has been pretty downbeat over the past few years – a lack of commissioning money, a fear of really big ideas, the exit of American co-producers and competition from streamers. Series Mania, the annual festival and industry forum, sought to be a conduit for change. At the center of proceedings at the influential Series Mania Forum was the promise of a landmark co-production treaty signing. The aim is to bring TV co-production more in line with film rules, streamlining admin, clarifying producer obligations and, crucially, giving producers a bigger portion of the spoils. Unveiling the treaty was Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset, who defied the clichés about Euro bureaucrats by delivering an impassioned speech that referred to Winston Churchill of all people. I’ve been a TV industry journalist for 17 years now and Mr Berset has finally found the formula to making legalese around international co-production interesting. Bravo, sir, you may be a genius. Elsewhere at Series Mania, Stewart took to the stage with Disney EMEA content supremo Angela Jain and HBO Max’s Aubrey unveiled new shows from Germany, Poland and Spain, as U.S. studios made their latest pitch to the European community – read Max’s analysis here. Russell T. Davies was also in town to talk about his “angriest and darkest show yet.” All our Series Mania coverage is here.

‘SNL UK’ Defies Expectations

Laughs and laurels: Fair to say the appetite for Saturday Night Live UK was minimal at best this time last week. The British version of the venerable American comedy was considered by many industry folk and viewers as an expensive and pointless exercise that would not work. Can’t deny it, my expectations for the Sky show were low. It was, then, a very pleasant surprise that SNL UK was pretty damned decent. Whisper it, but Sky could even have a sizeable hit on its hands, with a little more TLC. The writing was mostly sharp, Jack Shep delivered a crucial viral moment with his Princess Diana impression and the guest host, SNL royalty Tina Fey, was the anchor pulling it together. It was by no means perfect, and will still need to justify its massive per-ep costs, but as launches go, Comcast-owned Sky will have been delighted. Donald Trump even shared the opening sketch sending up British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, though it’s possible the U.S. President missed that most of the joke was actually on him. Jamie Dornan is up next and we’ll have updates as the episode roles out. All SNL UK coverage is here.

The Essentials

🌶️ Hot One: BAFTA nominee Sheridan Smith, Stephen Peacocke and Judy Davis are starring in ITV and Stan mystery thriller Two Birdswhich is from the producer behind Mr Bates vs the Post Office.

🌶️ Another One: The Housemaid producer Hidden Pictures and Spain’s AF Films are making an action-driven feature film Chopper.

🔥 A third One: Richard Gere’s legal thriller hit Primal Fearwhich saw a fresh-faced Edward Norton nab an Oscar nomination in his screen debut, is getting a first stage adaptation.

🗣️ The Big Interview: A Prophet star Tahar Rahim told Diana Lodderhose about his career and recent collab with writer Matt Charman on Sky thriller Prisoner.

⛓️‍💥 Disruptor: Author Jo Nesbø, the man behind Netflix’s new Harry Hole detective series, told us about his experience as a crime drama showrunner.

🌐 We are the world: Fisher Stevens’ Amazon rainforest doc We Are Guardians will launch on several platforms on April 22, which, appropriately, is Earth Day.

💰 Hey, big spender: Spain’s Movistar Plus+ is the latest to buy Jack Thorne’s buzzy drama Lord of the Fliesas part of a six-title deal with Sony Pictures Television.

🏕️ Summer at Series Camp: Germany’s biggest TV event revealed its 2026 plan.

🏪 New shop: Lucaville Global, the nascent outfit run by former Anonymous Content international boss David Davoli, has launched a JV with Italian indie Titanus Production and is developing four projects.

⏫ Boss level: Ex-Google EMEA chief Matt Brittin is to become the next Director General at the BBC, which this week also sounded the alarm on significant cuts to come.

📮 Bids are in: The Edinburgh TV Festival will either remain in the Scottish capital or move to Greater Manchester or Newcastle after the three submitted bids to host the event.

International Insider was written by Jesse Whittock and edited by Max Goldbart. We will be pausing next week for a national holiday in the UK before returning with a revamped look on April 10, 2026.