Rejoice, Harry Potter aficionados! Rupert Grint, best known for his role as impossible-not-to-love Hogwarts alum Ron Weasley, is set to appear on (or dare we say, "apparate to") our TV screens. The British actor will star in a forthcoming yet-to-be-titled NBC pilot. Deadline reports that Grint will play the lead character, a comic book-obsessed office worker in New York City, whose name also happens to be Rupert. (Magic!)
Fictional Rupert is obsessed with Imperial City, a comic book series created by his late father. However, he discovers that it is far more than just a fantasy world. In the show, a mysterious lost installment of the comic book reveals that the city is in grave danger and needs a savior. Enter our protagonist, who is tasked with saving the metropolis from imminent doom. Does this feel slightly familiar?
This role puts Grint front and center, unlike his "best buddy" days back in J.K. Rowling-land. In fact, Deadline reports the show was written with him specifically in mind. If that’s not enough to intrigue you, here’s another tidbit: Silvio Horta, creator of Ugly Betty, is behind the pilot.
This isn’t Grint’s first stab at American television. He was previously part of the pilot for CBS’s Super Clyde, another series centered around a comic book, which never took off. If the new show gets picked up, Grint will join two fellow Harry Potter stars on the small screen: Alfred Enoch (Dean Thomas), a cast member on ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder, and none other than Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), who stars in the British comedy series A Young Doctor’s Notebook.
Though TV may be beckoning him, Grint has plenty keeping him busy these days. He’ll soon be seen alongside Ron Perlman (Hellboy) in the feature film Moonwalkers, a comedy about a CIA agent and a rock manager who collaborate in an effort to help Stanley Kubrick film fake moon landings.
While there’s never a guarantee that a pilot will score a full season, we Potterheads will simply cross our fingers and hope for the best — and perhaps whip up an incantation to make it all a reality.