HBO Sets April Premiere Date for J.K. Rowling's 'The Casual Vacancy' Mini-Series

The TV adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s bestselling novel ‘The Casual Vacancy’ will be having a two-night premiere in the spring for U.S. viewers. According to HBO, the premium channel has already scheduled the three-hour mini-series on April 29 and 30.

Rowling came up with ‘The Casual Vacancy’ as a follow-up novel to the ‘Harry Potter’ series. Centered on a seemingly tranquil English village called Pagford, the story presents a town at war that is shrouded in controversy. Despite its still market square and abbey, disputes between people of different standings and characters are common.

Starring Michael Gambon, who is widely known for playing Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the past six ‘Harry Potter’ movies, other members of the cast include Keeley Hawes, Rory Kinnear, Monica Dolan, Julia McKenzie and Abigail Lawrie.

With directorial duties taken on by Jonny Campbell, the mini-series is penned by Sarah Phelps and produced by Bronte Film and Television, the production company managed by Rowling and Neil Blair.

Blair alongside Paul Trijbits and Rick Senat are the series’ executive producers whereas Ruth Kenley-Letts is producing.

Rowling is focusing on BBC One’s series adaptation of another one of her novels, ‘The Cuckoo’s Calling’, to be followed by ‘The Silkworm’- the first two books in her Cormoran Strike series. Both books have already garnered highly positive reviews and recommendations from fans and critics alike.

The 49-year-old British novelist is also co-writing the script for the Warner Bros’ film adaptation of ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.’

Centered on the magical creatures found in the world of Harry Potter, the script for ‘Fantastic Beasts’ will also be co-written by Steve Kloves, a longtime ‘Harry Potter’ film screenwriter. Produced by David Heyman, the film will begin its production phase this summer; the book is also expected to be transformed into a trilogy feature with which the three movies may hit theaters in 2016, 2018 and 2020.

“The experience of conjuring up these worlds is such fun. So to do it with [Rowling] and with Steve Kloves and Lionel Wigram is involved too, and with David Yates, and Stuart Craig will be designing it – it’s great. It’s exciting. And it’s a great world to return to,” Heyman shared.