10 things we want to see in season one of HBO's 'Harry Potter' show

The new "Harry Potter" trio: Arabella Stanton, Dominic McLaughlin, and Alastair Stout. Warner Bros. Pictures The "Harry Potter" TV adaptation will premiere on HBO this Christmas. It will cover the first book, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" — or the Philosopher's Stone. There were a few cuts from the book in the film adaptation that we want to see in the TV series. It seems that every other week, we're getting a new cast announcement for the "Harry Potter" TV series that's hitting HBO — most recently, Kit Harington was announced as Gilderoy Lockhart in season two. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Season one of the show, which is set to drop on December 25, will cover the events of JK Rowling's first wizarding book, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," which was first published in 1997. If you live outside the US, you'll know it as "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," which HBO is going with this time around. Since HBO's CEO Casey Bloys promised that each season will "dive deep into each of the iconic books," Potterheads expect the TV series to include details that had to be cut from the films for time constraints. Here are the 10 biggest things we want to see included in season one of "Harry Potter." The first chapter from Vernon's POV Vernon Dursley. Warner Bros. Pictures The first chapter of "Harry Potter" begins not from Harry's perspective, but from his obnoxious Uncle Vernon's. The first chapter follows a typical day in the life of Vernon — except this day isn't typical at all, as it's the day that Lord Voldemort was defeated by his baby nephew, Harry Potter, though he doesn't know it yet. This first chapter sets the tone for the book series, as it explains how the wizarding world (sort of) blends in with the Muggle world, establishes how bigoted the Dursleys are toward their magical relatives, and shows just how famous Harry is in the wizarding world. In comparison, the movie begins with Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall rolling up to the Dursleys' house and dropping Harry off. Speaking of that scene … More of Harry's life pre-Hogwarts Harry Potter and his letters. Warner Bros. Pictures A not-insignificant chunk of the "Sorcerer's Stone" book is spent explaining what Harry's day-to-day life in the Muggle world is like, including the unexplainable things that happen to Harry, like his hair growing out after a particularly bad haircut or how he somehow jumps up onto the ceiling of his school to avoid bullies. Also, hilariously, when Harry starts receiving letters addressed to the Cupboard Under the Stairs, the Dursleys, fearing that someone is aware of their abuse, let Harry move into the second bedroom, which had once been occupied by Dudley's toys. There's also supposed to be a very awkward month between Hagrid's first meeting with Harry and taking him to Diagon Alley, and then the Dursleys dropping him off at King's Cross, which would add some comedy to the proceedings. A little Sirius Black foreshadowing Gary Oldman played Sirius Black in the films. Warner Bros. Pictures In the film (and the book), Harry gets dropped off by Hagrid, the kind half-giant groundskeeper at Hogwarts, who scoops him up from his parents' house and brings him to the Dursleys via a giant, flying motorcycle. In the movie, Dumbledore asks if there's been any trouble, and Hagrid just replies that Harry fell asleep over Bristol. However, in the book, Hagrid mentions that he borrowed the bike from "young Sirius Black." This is a small detail, but one that will pay off in two seasons from now, since, of course, Sirius is Harry's godfather, which we don't learn until "Prisoner of Azkaban." Seeding Sirius' name early on in the TV show is a fun Easter egg for devotees and a little thing to chew on for newbies. Harry and Draco's first meeting Draco, played by Tom Felton, and Harry, played by Radcliffe. Lox Pratt will play Draco in the show. Warner Bros. Pictures In the movie, Harry meets Draco for the first time at Hogwarts, right before the sorting ceremony, and he coolly tells Draco he can tell who the "wrong sort" of people are for himself, after Draco tries to befriend the famous Harry Potter. In the book, this takes place in Diagon Alley, when the two are shopping for robes. They have a brief conversation, during which neither introduces themselves, but Draco insults Hagrid. They meet once more on the Hogwarts Express, which is when Draco learns who the boy he spoke to at Madam Malkin's was — and they have the same "wrong sort of people" conversation. Harry's first meeting with Draco is important for a few reasons. One: It makes the reader and Harry nervous that everyone at Hogwarts is a major snob, so it's a huge relief when Harry meets Ron. Two: It's effective exposition, showing us that there are hierarchies within the wizarding world based on blood status. Three: It helps Harry and the reader understand just how much Harry doesn't know about this world he's entering — crucially, this is when he learns about Quidditch. More of the friendships between Harry and his classmates Harry (Radcliffe) and Seamus Finnegan, played by Devon Murray. In the show, Leo Earley will play him. Warner Bros. Pictures Since the movies are pressed for time with all the plot they have to get through, the friendships Harry forms outside Ron and Hermione take a back seat. But in the books, Harry is relatively popular — at least, in the first book. He's good friends with the other Gryffindor boys, Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas, and is protective of Neville Longbottom. He also has strong bonds with the Gryffindor Quidditch team. We hope that the TV show is able to expand upon the other students at Hogwarts outside the core trio. Peeves Peter Serafinowicz is set to play Peeves. Danny North/ This might be a little bit of a cheat, since Peeves has already been cast (Peter Serafinowicz will play him in the series), but the omission of Peeves from the entire film series, not just the first movie, is probably one of "Potter" fans' most disliked choices. This devious poltergeist takes pride in messing with students, professors, and ghosts alike, but when it comes time to protect the residents of Hogwarts from truly evil forces, Peeves is up to the task. Also, as the series gets darker, it's always nice to have some comic relief from Peeves. All the Norbert drama Hagrid, as played by Robbie Coltrane, and Norbert. Nick Frost will play Hagrid in the show. Warner Bros. Pictures Hagrid acquiring a dragon egg, raising Norbert, and then having to give him away, is a memorable, but truncated plot in the film adaptation, and we don't get to see what happens to the dragon — Hagrid tells the gang that Dumbledore arranged for him to be sent to a dragon colony in Romania. In the book, it's a way bigger deal. First, it's very illegal for Hagrid to have this egg in the first place, so the stakes are high. Harry, Ron, and Hermione come up with a plan to smuggle Norbert out of the castle at midnight via the Astronomy Tower, where Charlie will pick him up, using the Invisibility Cloak; however, Ron misses all the fun when Norbert bites him and his hand gets infected. It's one of the more tense chapters in the book, especially when they're busted by Draco, McGonagall, and Filch, the grimy old caretaker. It leads to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville, who snuck out to warn them, losing 50 points apiece for Gryffindor, leading the rest of the house to ostracize them. Other centaurs, besides Firenze Firenze was voiced by Ray Fearon in the film. His casting in the TV show hasn't been announced yet. Warner Bros. Pictures Harry meets Firenze in the Forbidden Forest while he's completing detention for the Norbert debacle. He rescues him from what we learn later is Professor Quirrell and Lord Voldemort, while they're drinking unicorn blood. In the movie, Harry only meets Firenze, who leaves Harry with a warning that evil things lurk in the forest. In the book, Firenze lets Harry ride him, which enrages another centaur, Bane. Yet another centaur, Ronan, has to calm him down. The centaurs have a small but key role in the story, and also show that the wizarding world doesn't have the strongest record with non-humans, which becomes a bigger deal in "Order of the Phoenix." It's also interesting to learn about a community living in the Forbidden Forest, expanding the universe. More Potters in the Mirror of Erised In the films, Harry's parents were played by Geraldine Somerville and Adrian Rawlins. Actors for the two characters in the show have not been announced. Warner Bros. Pictures This is a small but bittersweet detail that's left out of the movie adaptation. In both versions of the story, Harry discovers the Mirror of Erised (yes, desire spelled backward) by mistake while he's running away from Filch. In the movie, Harry looks into it and sees his parents standing proudly behind him. It's heartbreaking, but the book version is even sadder. In the book, Harry doesn't just see his parents — he sees his entire extended family going back generations, most of whom he's unfamiliar with, as his Aunt Petunia is ashamed of her sister and brother-in-law and kept Harry from learning about his family. We don't really learn much about the Potters (or the Evanses) in the books or the films, but the TV series is the perfect time to expand what little we know about them. The potions challenge to get to the Philosopher's Stone Alan Rickman played Snape in all eight films. In the show, he will be played by Paapa Essiedu. Warner Bros. Pictures At the film's climax, Harry, Ron, and Hermione decide to take matters into their own hands to protect the Sorcerer's (or Philosopher's) Stone. To do so, they need to pass a set of challenges, each designed by a different professor. In the film, we see the trio go up against Hagrid's (his three-headed dog, Fluffy), Professor Sprout's (the Devil's Snare plant), Professor Flitwick's (the room filled with flying keys), Professor McGonagall's (Wizard Chess), and, finally, Dumbledore's (the Mirror of Erised). In the book, there are two more challenges, though one is more significant than the other. First, the lesser one: Professor Quirrell's, which Harry and Hermione encounter after Wizard Chess. This one's easy — Quirrell put a troll in the dungeon, and he already incapacitated it, so they don't have to do anything, though it does give us a hint about who's really behind the plot to steal the stone. The other one is Professor Snape's, who has devised a logic puzzle with a set of potions: One will send you through, one will let you go back, two are wine, and three are poison. Hermione figures it out and sends Harry through, while she goes back to help Ron. It's a shame this got cut, since both Harry and Ron got their time to shine in the movie with a challenge each, whereas this one is Hermione's specialty. Instead, her moment in the film is with the Devil's Snare, but in the book, that's more of a team effort. So, we hope to see Hermione get her big moment. She's the brightest witch of her age, after all. Read the original article on Business Insider

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