New ‘Harry Potter’ Show Loses a Weasley in a Predictable Way

I’m always amazed when a TV show about children continues for a long time, and the kids not only continue to be good actors, but also become better actors. It makes sense. They’re being robbed of a childhood so that they can make television, so hopefully, they’re at least excelling at what they do even more over time. But it doesn’t always work out that way. Plenty of kids may seem adorable at first, then, as they turn into more of a fully-formed human being, they become charisma vacuums who would be better off living a normal life.

Sometimes, however, kids step away before they can become long-running sitcom or movie stars. That could happen because they got a taste for it and decided to move on, or because people just don’t want to cast them in anything anymore. Hell, the latter might even happen because they were on a successful show. It’s all complex and complicated, as human beings are, and it was going to be even more so when it came to a show that would, ideally, run for at least seven series.

That is most certainly the case for the new Harry Potter TV show. You know, the one your friend keeps saying, “I don’t support JK Rowling, but” about. Deadline is reporting that Gracie Cochrane, who played Ginny Weasley in the first season of the show, will not be returning for the second season. Cochrane’s family released the following statement to reveal the news:

“Due to unforeseen circumstances, Gracie has made the challenging decision to step away from her role as Ginny Weasley in the HBO Harry Potter series after season one. Her time as part of the Harry Potter world has been truly wonderful, and she is deeply grateful to Lucy Bevan and the entire production team for creating such an unforgettable experience. Gracie is very excited about the opportunities her future holds.”

First and foremost: good for Gracie and her family. While I may be curious about what those “unforeseen circumstances” are (and maybe we’ll learn some years from now), no matter the reason, a child should be able to step away from something of this nature. Hell, maybe she just hated being on set for six/seven (ayyyy) hours a day, or whatever they were legally allowed to do. Some kids may take to this life easily (and, presumably, many others on the cast did), but that doesn’t mean it’s normal. If anything, this is a pretty predictable outcome in terms of signing a kid up for something that will dominate, at least, a decade of their lives.

HBO was supportive in their statement, but I have to imagine that some executive is pulling out their hair at the moment. Plenty of shows have seen cast changes, especially with important characters, but I’m sure a lot went into Ginny’s casting, as she eventually marries Harry. Now, they have to start from scratch with a character who will need to be more important several years from now. Sounds like a bit of a headache to me! Better just shut the whole thing down just to be safe.