So I'm going to make a rather bold and continuity-flouting statement: I want to see a Lavender Brown television show.
OK--I realize there's a lot to unpack there. If you're asking who Lavender Brown is, then the learning curve is going to be a bit steeper. But even if you're familiar with this supporting character from the Harry Potter book and movie series, you're probably still a little confused.
Let me take it from the top. If you've not read J.K. Rowling's novels or seen the movies, there will be some mild spoilers below--so take heed.
Lavender Brown was a Hogwarts student in the book series--one of Harry's contemporaries who also briefly (and, for fans, somewhat painfully) dated Ron. Her impact on the series, other than to foment jealousy on Hermione's part in the more hormone-drenched portions of Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince, is pretty limited. She appears to die in the pages of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows--though it warrants only a fleeting reference that doesn't confirm her fate definitively. Some fans view this--and the fact that some of Rowling's comments have disagreed with status notes on her popular Pottermore site--as an indicator of conspiracy, a sign that the author still has stories left to tell where this character is concerned.
For my part, I think the answer should be yes. And if such a story were to follow, I'd hope it would be fairly dark.
To be clear, this isn't a knock on the Fantastic Beasts series--which I've watched and enjoyed thus far--or Harry Potter and The Cursed Child--which I haven't viewed or read, though I'm familiar with the overall plot. But it strikes me, as I look at the immersive entertainment universe of movies, games, merchandise and theme park attractions that constitutes the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter," that the law of diminishing returns may be kicking in.
What had been brilliant about the original book series was that J.K. Rowling had planned so thoughtfully around how the stakes of the story--the peril, the relationships, the deaths--would mature with her readers. And when I think about the journey from Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone to Deathly Hallows, I don't believe she could have delivered on that intention any better than she did. But now I can't help but ask, "Where do we go from here?"
To some extent, I realize that Fantastic Beasts is meant to answer that question. Unlike the Harry Potter series, this later offering focuses almost exclusively on adults both as protagonists and antagonists. Noting that, the series is nevertheless still generally shooting for the same demographics as the original series. The movies are full of whimsy and, despite some heavy themes, pretty light. The aim, I'm sure, is to continue to enlist a younger audience--those who have voraciously consumed the Harry Potter books like binging a TV show, unencumbered by the years of lag between the release of the novels--while also appealing to older siblings and parents who are already fans. And I can't help but wonder if, by trying to be everything to everyone under one banner, the franchise isn't selling itself short.
Consider the Marvel Entertainment model. Marvel provides you superheroics for every age and taste. Teen-rated comics too mature? That's fine--watch our Y7 cartoon offerings. Are you a parent who is getting fatigued with Saturday morning TV? Kick back with a glass of wine and watch our noir-ish, M-rated TV series like Daredevil and Jessica Jones. While the Avengers MCU movies may entertain a broad audience, your franchise can have multiple sub-brands to satisfy various segments of your fandom--allowing your fans to graduate from one platform to the next as they age.
And that's why we need a Buffy The Vampire Slayer-inspired Lavender Brown TV show.
Still not following?
Let me jump back a couple of steps and fill in some detail. Lavender is portrayed in the books as grating and arguably somewhat vapid. She's a bit of a caricature, though it makes sense that she'd be a one-note character given the role she plays in the series. To my mind, she's maybe a little like Cordelia from the Buffy series. Not a very substantial personality to start--leaving a lot of room for growth.
When she dies in Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, it's unclear whether she perishes in a fall or from being savaged by the werewolf Fenrir Greyback following said fall--and that's our hook. What if she lived? What if there's a werewolf-scarred Lavender Brown out there in the Wizarding World?
It's worth noting that, in the Harry Potter novels, it's made very clear by J.K. Rowling that you can't be turned into a werewolf by being bitten or clawed by a pre-transformation werewolf not under the influence of the full moon. To that I say--rules are made to be broken. Heck, it could even be a core mystery of the series if Lavender began to fully or partially transform into a lycanthrope to her growing surprise and dismay. Could her wounds have activated a dormant blood curse?
And what about that would make for a compelling story? Well, just about everything.
As I've noted, Lavender comes across as a simple and shallow young woman who would be entering adulthood in the aftermath of both a personal trauma and social upheaval. It's well documented in the books that werewolves have a hard lot in the Harry Potter universe--suffering open discrimination, unable to put down roots, shunned by others not sharing their affliction. I'd wager that the minds at Netflix could make a compelling TV property out of much less, particularly if in replacement for their recently cancelled Marvel shows.
I would argue that this could be a huge win-win scenario for both the network or streaming service that distributes such a show as well as the Wizarding World brand itself. Because we need to see that side of the Harry Potter universe--and they need us to see it too. The young fans who waited in line at book stores to collect their copies of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows are in their 20s or even early 30s now. And they're not looking at the world--even the wizarding variant of it--from the same perspective that they were in 2009. I'm not suggesting you need to create a new genre either. Angsty, moody werewolves (and vampires) have been slouching across our screens--big and small--for much of the 2000s.
That said, this is likely just a flight of fancy. Because while I have no doubts as to whether there would be fan interest to support such a vehicle, I'd have to imagine that rights issues would be a big blocker. Lavender Brown, being a character created for the original series, would therefore presumably fall within any rights attached to the Scholastic books. I could see how carrying the Gryffindor from the juvenile book series into more adult fiction would have the potential to be at best unseemly and perhaps even cringe-worthy--despite it being a natural continuation of her story.
The key would be to arrive at a treatment that skews more towards ABC Family (er, now Freeform) rather than Marvel Netflix or (Heaven forbid) HBO/Showtime--a portrayal that's perhaps a few shades darker than Fantastic Beasts but still watchable with your teens. Of course, accomplishing that might be easier if Rowling were to leave Lavender dead as presumed--as it would admittedly be be much simpler to create a completely new character if you wanted to make a clean break with the Harry Potter books while still leveraging the same overall continuity.
One way or the other, I'm convinced that there's a story waiting to be told. I believe there's an audience interested in seeing wizarding life through a different lens--one not pointed down Knockturn Alley from the sunny side of the street, but rather one pointed out from within.
What do you think? Would you watch a TV show set in the universe of Harry Potter? Would you be a fan of a darker take? Let me know in the comments section below.
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