Mugglecast: The Harry Potter Podcast

Armed with the brand new Secrets of Dumbledore: The Complete Screenplay book, the MuggleCasters go to work finding answers for mysteries that were not made clear by the 3rd Fantastic Beasts movie, but may have been clearer during production!  What revelations do we have from the new Fantastic Beasts 3 screenplay? The MuggleCasters are hosting an Instagram Live event this Wednesday, August 3rd at 8:30 PM ET to celebrate our birthday! More birthday fun:  MuggleCast is hosting a LIVE Quizzitch game about ourselves this Saturday at 11 AM ET! Stay tuned to our social media for links. Don't miss our 2022 Patreon Gifts - The MuggleCast Collectors Club and the MuggleCast Wand! Pledge to our Patreon by August 7, 2022 and fill out the form(s) to receive your gifts! We are so proud of this year's items and hope you check them out! The Secrets of Dumbledore screenplay offers some very tiny moments that did not make it to the movie, but no deleted scenes. Dumbledore and Grindelwald's tea time was likely a flashb

This week, we wrap up our month-long Deathly Hallows 15th anniversary celebration by discussing a number of "What If" scenarios from the final installment of the Harry Potter series! What if things had gone drastically different at several key moments of the seventh book? Would Harry, Ron and Hermione have found another way, or would it have just been GAME OVER? Welcome back Sequoia, from Fanatical Fics and Where to Find Them podcast! Don't miss our 2022 Patreon Gifts - The MuggleCast Collectors Club and the MuggleCast Wand! Pledge to our Patreon by August 7, 2022 and fill out the form(s) to receive your gifts! We are so proud of this year's items and hope you check them out! News: Quidditch is changing its name to Quadball We continue our Deathly Hallows 15th Anniversary Celebration! Main Discussion: What if... Deathly Hallows Edition What if... Harry had been sorted into Slytherin? What if... Harry had not inadvertently destroyed the Diary Horcrux in Chamber of Secrets? What if... Lily and Jame

This week, the hosts grab their Time Turners and summon all the nostalgia that will fit in their beaded bag as they revisit the day after receiving Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Andrew, Eric and Laura were in London for a live podcasting event at Waterstones, and Micah was stateside. We reflect on our initial impression of the book, what things we feel differently about 15 years later, and how magical it felt to witness the "end" of an era together. Also on this episode: dramatic line readings of some Book 7 reactions and e-mails from the day after that we finally respond to! We've just announced our 2022 Patreon Gifts - The MuggleCast Collectors Club and the MuggleCast Wand! Pledge to our Patreon by August 7, 2022 and fill out the form(s) to receive your gifts! We are so proud of this year's items and hope you check them out! Main Discussion: Revisiting MuggleCast #101, our first Deathly Hallows reactions episode Why did we start off Episode 101 talking about Lord of the Rings? Eric reminds us

On this week's episode of MuggleCast, we begin our celebration of the 15th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by looking at the burning questions the seventh  book didn't answer. In the weeks ahead, stay tuned for more Deathly Hallows book discussions in honor of the anniversary! We're excited to announce our 2022 Patreon Gifts - The MuggleCast Collectors Club and the MuggleCast Wand! Pledge to our Patreon by August 7, 2022 and fill out the form(s) to receive your gifts! We are so proud of this year's items and hope you check them out! Main Discussion: Burning Questions Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Didn’t Answer Did Deathly Hallows provide the conclusion we all wanted? Which character(s) got the most disappointing Deathly Hallows resolution? Lavender Brown: dead or alive? What retributions (if any) were there for Death Eaters and Voldemort sympathizers after the second war? Did Kreacher live through the Battle of Hogwarts, and did he ever find out that the locket was destro

On this week's MuggleCast, the hosts take on the most indefensible characters, and figure out what about them gets under our skin. How can we defend the actions of someone like Gilderoy Lockhart or Rita Skeeter? Do we really believe that James Potter matured out of being a bully? And finally, is Umbridge a case of nature or nurture? Join Andrew, Eric, Micah and Laura for a deep look at characters who bug us in Harry Potter. For Pride month, MuggleCast is participating in The Hogwarts Hunt, a fundraiser and scavenger hunt to benefit LGBT charities. We're team Hufflepuff! Visit our social media for more info. Who are the most indefensible characters in Harry Potter? Why do we say that they can't they be redeemed? The hosts unexpectedly discuss a few Ravenclaws and Micah and Laura get nervous. Micah says the Death Eaters would actually approve of the Dursleys' treatment of Harry if they knew. Among the irredeemable characters, which ones do we LOVE to hate and why? Characters like Snape or Umbridge have

On this week's episode of MuggleCast, we're joined by a very special guest, Mr. Thomas Taylor, who originally illustrated Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 1996!  He talks about what it was like to land the job and all that ensued! Join us as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the book that began a phenomenon! Welcome Thomas Taylor, illustrator of the very first Harry Potter book in the UK! Thomas shares what it was like to get the job at just 23-years-old! How did he decide to illustrate the iconic Hogwarts Express scene? Did he ever speak with J.K. Rowling? What was it like to be one of the first people to ever read Harry Potter? Was he ever asked to work on the remainder of the series? Who is the mysterious gentleman on the original back cover, and what's in his pocket? Did you know there is a connection between Dumbledore and The Hobbit? Thomas shares his thoughts on the first Harry Potter movie, his favorite characters and his Hogwarts House! What was it like for him to transitio

A merger of Warner Bros and Discovery, Inc. has led Andrew to speculate as to what the future of the Wizarding World may look like on film and TV. And he's prepared a presentation about it! Hosts Eric, Micah, Laura and special Slug Club guest Neil join in and speculate as to the future of Fantastic Beasts, and what - if any - television series set within the Wizarding World we might see from Discovery Time Warner. It's a jam-packed episode with lots of laughs and really cool ideas! Welcome Slug Club guest Neil, who's joining us from South Korea in the middle of the night. What CEO David Zaslav might do with Fantastic Beasts, Harry Potter, and his upcoming meeting with JKR. While Secrets of Dumbledore is the lowest performing Wizarding World film of all time, it still technically has broken even, reaching $400M globally. Is the future secure for its remaining announced sequels? Hypothetically, what scripted Harry Potter TV shows could we see coming if not a direct reboot of the original Potter books? T

Watch Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore with the MuggleCasters in our movie commentary track! We had a ton of fun watching the movie together and making sense of everything that's going on. What are each character's motives? What are we noticing now that we're watching in the comfort of our own homes? Even the credits had a surprise that a couple of us weren't aware of! We discuss every moment of the movie as we watch it together! The Secrets of Dumbledore was just released on HBO Max, and now you can watch the movie in real time with your Harry Potter friends (Us). You will need to bring your own copy of the movie to get the full experience. Currently it's available on HBO Max and will be released on DVD/Blu-Ray/Digital at the end of June. At the beginning of the episode we help you sync up with us. Our sync point is just after the WB logo flies past the camera. For us, this was 53 seconds into the movie, but your timecode may differ if you don't have a HBO ad at the beginning. This week's

On this week's episode, Micah and Eric talk about what Fantastic Beasts 4 needs to do in order to keep fans interested in the franchise. Then open our Muggle Mailbag to take feedback on Secrets of Dumbledore. Plus... Alakazam! Can wizards and witches really use spoons to do magic? Main Mini-Discussion: What does Fantastic Beasts 4 need to do in order to be a satisfying story for fans? With where Secrets of Dumbledore left us, what more story is there to tell?  Can the franchise continue to hang its hooks on Potter nostalgia, but then fail to deliver? Do we feel there is enough meat for five Fantastic Beasts films? Could a flashback movie work? It's time to bust open the Muggle Mailbag! What did Grindelwald know about Dumbledore's future when he said: "Who's going to love you now?" Will Jude Law's Dumbledore ever reenact the Half-Blood Prince potion scene? Is Secrets of Dumbledore too gay? Did Dumbledore plan for Jacob to be an "assassin" all along? Why did Leta choose Theseus? Is Newt to blame?

In their first dedicated character discussion since the premiere of Secrets of Dumbledore, the hosts of MuggleCast turn the pages of their study guides to Professor Eulalie Hicks of Ilvermorny! "Lally" was a huge highlight of the third Beasts film, and we're here to say why that was. Join Andrew, Eric, Micah and Laura as they analyze the character through her words, attitude and relationships. It's a fun episode for sure. Main Discussion: Professor Eulalie "Lally" Hicks in Secrets of Dumbledore Going back to the first section he ever headed on MuggleNet, Micah starts us off with Lally's Name Origin Jessica Williams, who portrays Lally, was herself a big Harry Potter fan, and even shares his birthday! The announcement of Jessica's casting likely took place at the next table over from Andrew, Eric and Micah when they saw Cursed Child on Broadway. What makes Eulalie a member of Thunderbird house? It's been a while since the hosts had a chance to talk about Ilvermorny canon. As a Charms professor, Eulal

On this week's episode, the fearless MuggleCasters take it upon themselves to answer Secrets of Dumbledore's biggest unanswered questions, using their extensive knowledge of the Wizarding World to provide plausible answers and put to bed the movie's most dangling plot threads. Join Andrew, Eric, Laura and Micah on this fun journey through the plot points and listen as they finally discuss whether their own prophecy about the movie came true! Main Discussion: Can our knowledge of book canon help us explain the events of Fantastic Beasts 3? In what YEAR is the third movie set? Some title cards would have been helpful! Are there clues in the props? What became of Nagini? Andrew, Laura and Micah provide a tragic outcome while Eric imagines a spa day. Where is Tina Goldstein, really? The "she's busy" explanation does not hold any giggle water for us! Was Newt ever allowed back to Hogwarts after his expulsion, and did he complete his schooling there? What makes Dumbledore "more than a teacher" to Newt, in

On this week's episode, we bust open our Muggle Mailbag to answer your burning questions and take your feedback on Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore! Twitter Polls Galore! Which host would the Qilin bow to? What was the best Secrets of Dumbledore ship? And overall, what did listeners think of the movie? What did Yusuf Kama have to help fight Grindelwald? The hosts celebrate Eulalie Hicks after leaving her hanging in our initial review! Why did Grindelwald's followers not kill Theseus when they captured him? Why did Theseus not question Queenie after her return to the good side? Did Dumbledore and Grindelwald's fight scene fail to deliver? Why did the Qilin bow to Dumbledore? Why not Newt? Or Jacob? Did the producers tie up loose ends enough so that this could be the last film? Where are Graves and Nagini? How did Jacob and Queenie get permission to marry? Prediction Time: Which host was closest to the box office number and what does this number mean for the future of the franchise? On

This week, we continue our review of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, this time focusing on the various odds and ends of the film! Plus, we hand out our "Bunty Awards," which are accolades for several aspects of the movie! Stay tuned for many, many more thoughts on the weeks and months ahead! The "Bunty" award for our Favorite New Character, Favorite New Beast, etc What was the one stand-out scene of the film? Was the movie poster for the film misleading? (YES) Eric took a stopwatch into his Secrets of Dumbledore screening... for a very specific experiment. We, like Jacob, were confused by the plot to confuse Grindelwald. What about Grindelwald's visions in the puddles and mirrors, what do they mean? Was Credence made to sound more like Aberforth at the start of the film? And was anyone else thinking he would have a romance with Queenie from their early interaction? The re-use of classic Harry Potter lines is scrutinized by Micah. Was the Anton Vogel actor too similar in appearance to

On this week's episode, it's all about reviewing Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore! It's finally here, so just how many secrets were there, and did they live up to expectations? We touch on some of the film's biggest moments and discuss whether or not this could be the last installment in the Fantastic Beasts franchise. Welcome Slug Club member, Jemima! Main Discussion: Our review of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore The hosts given their spoiler-free initial reactions to the third Fantastic Beasts film before jumping into all the details and spoilers Did this movie course-correct like we hoped it would? The Top 7 Moments from The Secrets of Dumbledore... Say what, kid?!? Aurelius is Aberforth's lovechild?!? Ariana WAS an obscurus! Were we satisfied with the reveal? Tea time with Albus and Gellert Is Mads the Grindelwald we've been waiting for? The Brothers Scamander take on the Manticore Could any of us make sense of The Election? The Blood Pact: Explained & Destroyed Quee

With just a few days before the release of Secrets of Dumbledore, we host our 7th installment of Quizzitch Live to test your knowledge to-date on the Fantastic Beasts series. Are you up on your fantastic casting? Can you guess who said these memorable quotes? Is your knowledge of beasts at the Magizoologist level? Just how well do you know Gellert Grindelwald ? Join us for Quizzitch Live: Fantastics Beasts and the Suitcase of Fun! Prizes benefit Lambda Legal, The Trevor Project, Trans Lifeline and GLSEN! Next week will be part 1 of our big Secrets of Dumbledore review! After you see the movie, be sure to send in your feedback and theories, and we may include it on air! This week's episode is sponsored by BetterHelp (Go to BetterHelp.com/mugglecast and get 10% off your first month) and HelloFresh (Go to HelloFresh.com/muggle16 and use code muggle16 for up to 16 free meals AND 3 free gifts!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With this being our final episode before The Secrets of Dumbledore hits theaters (in the U.K., at least), we set our predictions and theories for the third Fantastic Beasts movie in stone. Plus, one of us has already seen the movie and offers a positive spoiler-free review! Are you new to MuggleCast? Be sure to subscribe to us on your favorite podcast app, and check out our Patreon for additional benefits! Our next Quizzitch Live is Saturday, April 9th, at 11 AM ET! Winners will receive $40 to a charity of their choice and tickets to see the next Beasts film. Main Discussion: The hosts make their final predictions and theories about The Secrets of Dumbledore ...but Eric has just come back from an early screening! He gives a quick, spoiler-free review of the movie. What will the film's Tomatometer score end up being? How much money will it gross on opening weekend in the U.S.? Andrew, Micah and Laura guess  how gay the Dumbledore and Grindelwald relationship will be? On the subject of relationships,

With just a few weeks to go until the release of The Secrets of Dumbledore, the hosts review some recently released clips and featurettes. Why did Dumbledore create the blood pact and what happens if he tries to destroy it? Will Dumbledore's love for Grindelwald continue to cloud his judgment? And, are the Fantastic Beasts producers relying too much on Harry Potter nostalgia? Plus next week, don't miss our Secrets of Dumbledore predictions episode! News roundup covers Hogwarts Legacy for Nintendo Switch, early Fantastic Beasts fan screenings and The Secrets of Dumbledore screenplay Main Discussion: The Latest Secrets of Dumbledore Clips & Featurettes Dumbledore attempts to destroy the blood pact! Why does this scene feel oddly familiar? Dumbledore confesses his love for Grindelwald! How will Newt and team bring down Grindelwald... it's all about CONFUSION?!?! Does David Heyman's Dean Thomas reference seem out of place? Are the Fantastic Beasts producers relying too heavily on Harry Potter nostalgia?

On this week's MuggleCast, we return to an e-mail that we received that asks us what the 1998-1999 Hogwarts school year would have been like, when Hermione returned to complete her Hogwarts education and when Ginny and Luna were her classmates. The hosts think critically and speculate which accommodations might be made in wake of the destruction of the school and considering the mental health and well-being of students and staff! Plus, a recent Hogwarts Legacy trailer gives us the first real look inside the much-anticipated Wizarding World game. All this and more can be found inside the episode! Playstation's 'State of Play' event gives Potter fans an in-depth look at Hogwarts Legacy. The hosts discuss what interests them about it as gamers. Main Discussion: Annette asks us, what do we think the 1998/1999 school year would have looked like at Hogwarts? September 1 is only 4 months after the Battle of Hogwarts! Is that enough time to repair the school and memorialize the fallen? What would the Sorting H

On this week's episode, our Fantastic Beasts character discussions return to focus on the one-and-only Newt Scamander. With about a month to go before the release of Secrets of Dumbledore, we analyze all of Newt's relationships from the last film and debate what the future holds for our favorite magizoologist. Plus, its Newt's birthday, so just will the hosts gift him? A niffler fanny pack may be in his future! Welcome to our social media manager, Chloe! The cover of the Order of the Phoenix Illustrated Edition has been revealed! Fantastic Beasts Character Discussion: Newt Scamander We last talked about Newt back on Episode 326 with Evanna Lynch! Horoscope Check: Newt is the perfect Pisces! The hosts break down Newt's relationships in Crimes of Grindelwald What exactly is the dynamic between the brothers Scamander? Does Newt still love Leta? Why does Dumbledore trust Newt so much? Are there more comparisons between Newt and Snape than meet the eye? The Newt and Jacob BROMANCE continues! Did th

On this week's episode of MuggleCast, we break down new scenes from the recently released Japanese Secrets of Dumbledore trailer, take listener feedback and talk about the 18 new character posters. Plus, we're joined by a very special guest to review Cursed Child in San Francisco! #Millennial co-host Pam joins the show to review the new-and-improved one-part Cursed Child in San Francisco! Check out new episodes of Andrew, Laura, and Pam's #Millennial every Wednesday. Subscribe via Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you listen! The hosts analyze the new Japanese Secrets of Dumbledore trailer, which includes even more exciting footage! Oh brother! Did Theseus and Newt successfully defeat the Manticore? Professor McGonagall namedrop! Dumbledore comes face-to-face with the portrait of Ariana Newt: “To save our world, each of us has a role to play." What exactly are the roles that Theseus, Eulalie, Jacob, Yusuf and Bunty will play in the third Fantastic Beasts film? Tina is inside Newt's suitc