Books: Harry has “bright green eyes”, inherited from his mother (PS, ch. 2). Series: Dominic McLaughlin’s eyes appear blue in promotional images.
Season 1, episode 1
Episode 1 of season 1, Philosopher’s Stone. It premieres on 25 December 2026 on HBO and HBO Max.
| Season | Season 1 |
| Episode | 1 of 8 |
| Title | Not yet announced |
| Air date | 25 December 2026 |
| Likely to cover | chapters 1–3 of the book (our estimate) |
What it is likely to cover
This is our own estimate, not information from HBO. It splits the book’s 17 chapters across the eight episodes by story and length. The series may cover more, less, or reorder events.
- Chapter 1: The Boy Who Lived
- Chapter 2: The Vanishing Glass
- Chapter 3: The Letters from No One
In the book
- Dumbledore, McGonagall and Hagrid leave the baby Harry on the Dursleys’ doorstep (ch. 1).
- Ten years later: life in the cupboard under the stairs, Dudley’s birthday and the trip to the zoo, where Harry sets a snake free without knowing how (ch. 2).
- Letters addressed to Harry start to arrive, and Uncle Vernon goes to greater and greater lengths to stop him reading them, ending in a hut on a rock out at sea (ch. 3).
“Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.”— PS, ch. 1
What we have already seen
Differences from these chapters already seen in the trailers and official images:
Books: Harry’s primary school is only mentioned in passing (PS, chs. 2–3). Series: the first trailer opens with Dudley bullying Harry at school.
Books: Harry wears “round glasses held together with a lot of Sellotape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose” (PS, ch. 2). Series: his glasses in the trailers are not taped.
Books: Aunt Petunia cuts Harry’s hair so short that he is almost bald, apart from his fringe, and it grows back overnight (PS, ch. 2). Series: after the haircut, Harry’s hair is far from almost bald.
Books: Harry never cries in front of the Dursleys. Series: the trailers show him crying in front of them.
Images © HBO. More in official images.
When the episode airs, this page will be updated with the chapters it actually adapts and every difference from the book.
