Harry Potter, the name alone can mean so much to a fan.. Every year from the day it was released it continued to play a major role in leading the industry. It is also amazing how Harry Potter is referenced in popular shows continuously which proves its acceptance to all. Harry Potter changed the worldview of fantasy genre films. It began to outstretch its effect not only in the movies but also on TV shows and more. TV shows were diplomatic about using Harry Potter in their shows. They use it for publicity purposes or just to show their affection towards the wizarding world. Whatever it is, this shows what a marvelous amount of cultural impact Harry Potter has over the world. People from all over the world were affected by the Harry Potter fever. They love it when another series or TV show mentions their favorite series. They feel delighted by getting in touch by any means with Harry Potter. Their nostalgia blasts like fireworks, giving the fans a refreshing feeling of diving into the magical world, even if it’s just for a brief moment.
Popular TV shows have mentioned the wizarding world many times. It may be a moment that feels relatable to Harry Potter, or maybe just the characters fanning over Harry Potter. They never left a chance of mentioning Harry Potter even for a brief moment. They mentioned the books or even had a brief discussion on which house they may belong to; all this sparks the admiration of Harry Potter fans. They feel a pull towards the shows that they can’t avoid. Such shows that have mentioned Harry Potter even for a brief moment are “The Big Bang Theory,” “Friends,” “The Simpsons,” “Stranger Things,” etc.
The Big Bang Theory: Geek Culture and Harry Potter
The Big Bang Theory is one of the biggest TV shows that used Harry Potter references many times. No other series has ever mentioned Harry Potter more than The Big Bang Theory. Sheldon, one of the main characters of the show, is a known Potterhead, and other characters also adore the Harry Potter series.
In season 03, episode 02, Rajesh says that the fourth Harry Potter movie (Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire) was “just fine” to him.
In season 03, episode 06, Leonard was desperate to learn football by reading books and observing it on TV. Raj was getting annoyed by the commercials on the television. Leonard was still not getting any idea about the beginning and Sheldon started to describe it as he said his father used to make him watch the matches. At this point, Howard was surprised that Sheldon knew about football games, so he said his thoughts, saying, “I mean, Quidditch, sure, but football..?” he still couldn’t believe his ears!
In season 04, episode 01, Sheldon got kind of offended by Amy’s thoughts over life and called her “Muggles”. This scene was quite entertaining to the audience.
In season 05, episode 12, Howard was practicing magic tricks for his cousin’s birthday party. He brought out a goldfish from a cylinder. Raj is so astonished by this trick that he thinks there must be a seat on the Hogwarts Express with Howard’s name on it.
In season 05, episode 17, Raj spent twenty-five dollars to buy a handcrafted Harry Potter wand for some kid. And he was not impressed at first, saying it looked like the kid went to his backyard and picked it up. Then Howard noticed a number on the wand, and Raj was happy again, thinking it was a limited edition. 
In season 06 episode 15 Leonard is reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Sheldon ruins it for him by revealing the death of Dumbledore, Leonard is so shocked that he can’t even say anything to Sheldon at that and on over that when Leonard was storming out Sheldon spices him up more giving the spoiler of Dobby the Elf.
There are many more references throughout the whole show that are impossible to mention in one sitting. The Big Bang Theory is a sitcom genre where the Harry Potter series plays a huge role in bringing out the humorous funny moments from the characters.
Friends: Casual Mentions of Hogwarts
In the episode where Chandler describes his wife’s obsession over organizing things perfectly, he sarcastically says, “What’s next, a label on my forehead that says Muggle?”. This sarcasm gives the fans a different level of satisfaction.
Ross mentions Harry Potter while talking about his son Ben and how he wanted to have a Harry Potter-themed birthday party. This casual mention of the Harry Potter series shows how much of an effect it had on the kids in 2000 and the parents were very much aware of it.
Harry Potter has influenced many non-fantasy shows, making its mark on mainstream television in various genres. Its widespread popularity meant that even shows that do not have anything to do with magic or fantasy genre.
The Simpsons: Animated References to Hogwarts
The Simpsons is another show that has mentioned or parodied Harry Potter numerous times. They created a Harry Potter parody, mentioned about the series or the books and even brought J.K. Rowling in an epic episode.
In the third act, “Wiz Kids,” Lisa and Bart attended Springwart’s School of Magicry. In this episode, Harry Potter was a classmate of them, and they had to fight the dark power of Lord Montymort (Montgomery Burns).
On the British-themed episode where J.K. Rowling makes a guest appearance, Lisa gets excited after meeting her. Lisa greets her by pronouncing her name wrong, though Rowling replies to Lisa with, “Thank you, young Muggle.” Lisa furthermore asks her to give the spoiler about Harry Potter’s ending, where Rowling sneeringly says, “He grows up and marries you. Is that what you want to hear?” to this Lisa replies in a fanciful way, “Yes” right after her confession Rowling rolls her eyes and walks away.
In a parody of Love, the British Prime Minister (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) expresses his love for his secretary. When they embrace each other Severus Snape appears on the screen and says, “Love is more powerful than all my magic”.
Stranger Things
Stranger Things is another supernatural TV show that caught the hearts of the audiences. Many Harry Potter fans find similarities between the characters among the two.
The main character of Stranger Things Eleven, at some point, represents Harry Potter. Eleven has a traumatizing and struggling childhood just like Harry Potter did. Eleven is an orphan and has some problems and flaws in her character. We can find these things in Harry Potter’s character as well. They both have quite complicated lives and they fight evil to bring back justice in the world. Both Harry Potter and Eleven share the same kind of fate and also they have their own supernatural powers.
Eleven has her group of trios who are always there to have her back at any cost, just like Harry Potter’s famous trio, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They fought side by side against the evil force. At some point, Eleven’s friend even mentions that Eleven is just like Harry Potter. These similarities force the audiences to think that Stranger Things might be a Parallel world of Harry Potter.
Harry Potter has been mentioned in almost every show that aired after the 2000s. It became a trend using Harry Potter references in TV shows and the audiences even enjoyed watching them. Harry Potter has influenced many TV shows to give a magical touch to their show. The inclusion of Harry Potter references in mainstream, non-fantasy series shows underscores unparalleled cultural impact. Whether it’s in Fiend’s sarcastic mention or The Simpsons fanning over it, Harry Potter became a part of the shared cultural lexicon. Its incorporation into various TV genres shows how its magic has an impact on non-fantasy audiences. This proves Harry Potter is a cross-genre phenomenon and had a crucial role in connecting cultures through all.
