{
  "id": 1119619,
  "title": "At least some people have turned down HBO's Harry Potter series",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/at-least-some-people-have-turned-down-hbos-harry-potter-series",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-14T15:49:21.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The A.V. Club",
    "slug": "the-a-v-club",
    "url": "https://www.avclub.com/tv-directors-turn-down-hbo-harry-potter"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A growing number of Hollywood professionals have turned down lucrative roles in HBO's Harry Potter series due to concerns over the project's potential to profit from J.K. Rowling's controversial views on transgender individuals. TV director Ally Pankiw, who has worked on shows like Black Mirror and The Great, shared screenshots of a conversation with a WME agent expressing her disapproval of working on the project, stating, \"I have an instinct on the answer but I feel compelled to ask Harry Potter? Hard no?\" Pankiw firmly rejected the offer, emphasizing that it was easier to decline funding transphobia. Fellow director Kate Herron of Loki echoed similar sentiments, sharing that she has turned down the role twice, acknowledging that it is an increasingly difficult stance to maintain.",
  "summary": "TV directors Ally Pankiw and Kate Herron both say they've turned down offers to work on the series over J.K. Rowling's transphobia.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}