The cast and crew of HBO’s Harry Potter TV series are hard at work. The magical cast is in costume and playing their beloved characters, a small Warner Bros. Studios metropolis with a real school for the child stars has been put together, and this show’s production seems to be chugging right along. To top it all, the upcoming streaming series made sure to do a good deed during filming, but some villagers got a bit snarky about it.
According to The Guardian, some scenes from the new Harry Potter show are set to be filmed in Lustleigh, Devon. However, its variety of potholes can make for a very dangerous set. Fortunately, the parish clerk posted on Facebook that those pesky road hazards plan to be filled on Wreyland path:
Good news! The filming company have been given permission by the DCC Highways to proceed with repairs on Wreyland path, using an approved contractor. The contractor will fill all large potholes manually this Friday (26th September) and will then assess if further work needs to be carried out. The path will NOT be shut so can be used as normal.
This sounds like good news, doesn’t it? After all, no one wants there to be any pothole-related accidents. All it took was a little “reparo” work from the HBO series, and a good deed was done.
However, it looks like the villagers of Lustleigh didn’t receive the news as warmly as you’d think. While UK residents were pleased with the repairs, many snarkily commented about the fact that it took filming in the area to finally do something about the pothole situation:
- Thats brilliant news, can fix potholes for filming but not for everyday use…-Andrew Pike
- Would it be possible for the parish council [to] ask the film company, as a good token gesture, to do all the other roads in the parish that will be inconvenienced, due to any Diversion? Like the road up to Pethybridge and Pullabrook for example? -Michael Morris
- Harry Potter and the potholes … good new book heading. -Donna Tandy
While it’s understandable for the villagers to be angry that it took filming the upcoming TV show for the potholes to be filled, The Guardian reports how road repair work is done in Lustleigh. Council volunteers go out and repair small potholes with a “Lustleigh pothole tracker” spreadsheet that keeps tabs on the problem areas. Larger potholes, on the other hand, have to be reported to the council for them to get taken care of.
Filming for Harry Potter seems to be happening on a Game of Thrones-like scale, with each season taking 10-11 months to shoot. That’s definitely not a quick film shoot. But if all of this heavy-duty filming means each season will take its time to bring together a “faithful” adaptation of the fantasy book series we all love, all the power to them. With such a long film shoot, no wonder those potholes need to be taken care of ASAP.
Villagers of Lustleigh may have been snarky that it took filming Harry Potter for the town’s potholes to be filled. However, better late than never. Plus, I’m sure they’ll be very happy that their town of 600 residents will be showcased on a global scale when the book-to-screen adaptation hits HBO’s streaming schedule.
While the fantasy series plans to make its way to those with an HBO Max subscription in 2027, you can watch the film series that started it all on the same streamer or with a Peacock subscription.