“Sadly for J.K. Rowling fans, there is no Harry Potter Netflix series in the works — at least as of January 2018,” said hoax-busting Snopes.com. “A rumor that the series was in production originated with a fake advertisement for the series and a 2017 April Fools’ Day joke.”
The joke was posted on Hypable, which said: “In a stunning turn of events that surprised literally everyone, Netflix’s latest press release is about to blow. your. mind. Several actors from ‘Stranger Things ‘have been plucked to star in a brand new Harry Potter television series set in the US!”
But if you search Netflix Harry Potter on Twitter, you’ll see dozens of fans begging the movie-by-mail company to add “Harry Potter” films to their mix.
Why don’t they?
On Quora.com, the consensus is that the licensing fees are too high.
Another theory: “Netflix bids on getting movies. They were just outbid. Netflix does not have any of the live action Marvel Super Hero movies.”
And another: “Warner Brothers has not released rights to stream Harry Potter on any platform. … They may even be holding their rights back until Warner Brothers creates their own streaming service. That seems to be the direction the industry is leaning.”