After giving the series the green light, Simon Young, the BBC’s head of commissioning for history, said: “30 years after the publication of the first Harry Potter book, there feels like no better time for the BBC to explore one of the towering figures of British literature.”
Meanwhile, David Harron, commissioning editor at BBC Scotland, described Rowling as “arguably one of the most influential figures in the literary and wider media worlds.”
And executive producer James Rogan said the series would explore how Ms Rowling’s “unflinching personal beliefs have sparked a fraught and divisive dialogue that continues to this day.”
Despite a clear excitement among BBC bosses, the same can’t be said for Ms Rowling’s critics and pro-trans activists, many of whom took to social media to air their grievances with the corporation given the author’s public stance on gender.