The Worst Witch

The Worst Witch. The book series by Jill Murphy was first published in 1974 and continues through to 2013 at least.

Harry Potter. The book series by JK Rowling was first published by 1997 and continued through to 2007, with more stories rumored on their way.

The Worst Witch. The first film adaptation came out in 1986 starring Fairuza Balk and Tim Curry. A television series then ran from 1998 to 2001.

Harry Potter. The first film adaptation came out in 2001 starring everyone you could ever want and more, and the series culminated in 2011. A prequel film then was released in 2016.

I love Harry Potter, but I'm old enough to have watched the Worst Witch and remembered it. The overlap and obvious repetitions between the two stories kept me from enjoying HP until much later, but today I have a healthy love for both stories, as they really do tell two different stories despite all the similarities.

British boarding schools, especially to American viewers who are by and large unfamiliar with boarding schools as a concept, may mistake normal behaviors for particularities unique to one universe or the other.

Now that we have THAT out of the way, this is a fun version of the misadventures of Mildred, the Worst Witch. Magic takes a backseat to telling a rather mundane, but poignant story about friendship, fitting in, and hard decisions.

It is perhaps a simpler story than Rowling's work, leaving out so much of the backdrop of the past that conveyed the breathing magical world of Harry Potter. The Worst Witch instead skips over the hidden world and takes on perhaps a more mythical sense. The cheaper effects are highly charming, and the children give solid performances.

This is a great series for kids perhaps not quite old enough for the darker Harry Potter world, but ready to embrace a magical school.

Lets not dwell on the obvious comparison. This is not a rip off of that other witching school. This series is a lot of fun, and has been around for decades.

The casting is great, there is a lot of chemistry between cast members. The stories are engaging, well written and this show kept the spirit and sense of humor of the books, while adding a few modern touches. I'm really looking forward to the next installment.

As has been said in other intelligent reviews, The Worst Witch book series significantly pre-dates Harry Potter.

Since JK Rowling was 9 years old when the first Worst Witch book was written, we might well assume there was some early influencing going on. The similarities exist, as those who don't know about the books and think THIS is the rip-off like to point out. However, any similarities would work the other way around. Did she intentionally plagiarize? Probably not. How many of us remember everything we read as children?

This series is a remake of a series that came from a movie that came out in the 1980s (from the book written in 1974). There has already also been a reboot: The NEW Worst Witch.

As with all the others, this is a relatively low budget production, but seems quite cute and would likely be very enjoyable to children, and to those who would like to know the original inspiration for the world of Harry Potter.

I think this entire season was wonderful. The actors are not only very good but they truly make you believe they are witches! I was hooked within the first few minutes. It tells such a good story with all the individual back stories to help you as you go along to understand why some of the girls act they way they do. I really cannot wait until the 2nd season airs....Anyone know when that will be???

This show got me hooked at the very beginning. There is something different about it but at the same time exciting. Kept me glued to the TV wanting more. The plot is very interesting and different from anything on TV right now. The characters do a great job there extremely diverse. The acting is surprising considering this show as mostly kids in it but they do a great job of being the characters. I wanted more and felt like the show could even get even better.