A Discovery of Witches (TV series)

A Discovery of Witches is a British television programme based on the All Souls trilogy by Deborah Harkness, named after the first book in the trilogy. It is produced by Bad Wolf and Sky Productions, and stars Teresa Palmer, Matthew Goode, Edward Bluemel, Louise Brealey, Malin Buska, Aiysha Hart, Owen Teale, Alex Kingston, and Valarie Pettiford. The first series of A Discovery of Witches premiered in the UK on Sky One on 14 September 2018, and consisted of eight episodes. In November 2018, Sky One renewed A Discovery of Witches for a second and third series.

A Discovery of Witches
Genre
Based onAll Souls Trilogy
by Deborah Harkness
Written by
Directed by
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original language(s)English
No. of series1
No. of episodes8 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
Production location(s)
  • Great Britain
  • Italy
  • Wales
CinematographyPetra Korner
Running time45 minutes
Production company(s)
DistributorSky Vision
Release
Original networkSky One
Original release14 September 2018 (2018-09-14) –
present (present)
External links
Production website

Premise

Diana Bishop, a historian and reluctant witch, unexpectedly discovers a bewitched manuscript in Oxford's Bodleian Library. This discovery forces her back into the world of magic in order to unravel the secrets it holds about magical beings. She is offered help by a mysterious geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont. Despite a long-held mistrust between witches and vampires, they form an alliance and set out to protect the book and solve the mysteries hidden within while dodging threats from the creature world.

Cast and characters

Main
  • Teresa Palmer as Diana Bishop, DPhil., a witch and tenured historian at Yale studying alchemy and science at Oxford[2]
  • Matthew Goode as Matthew Clairmont, a vampire and Professor of Biochemistry[2]
  • Edward Bluemel as Marcus Whitmore, Matthew Clairmont's vampire son and lab colleague[2]
  • Louise Brealey as Gillian Chamberlain, a fellow witch and academic alongside Diana at Oxford[3]
  • Malin Buska as Satu Järvinen, a Finnish witch and a Congregation member[4]
  • Aiysha Hart as Miriam Shephard, vampire and Matthew's scientific colleague in Oxford[3]
  • Owen Teale as Peter Knox, a high-ranking witch and a member of the Congregation[3]
  • Alex Kingston as Sarah Bishop, Diana's aunt[2]
  • Valarie Pettiford as Emily Mather, Sarah's partner[2]
  • Trevor Eve as Gerbert d'Aurillac, an ancient vampire and a Congregation member[5]
  • Lindsay Duncan as Ysabeau de Clermont, mother of Matthew Clairmont and wife of Philippe de Clermont[2]

Recurring and guest

Episodes
No.EpisodeDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions) [6]
1Episode 1Juan Carlos MedinaKate Brooke14 September 2018 (2018-09-14)1.26
2Episode 2Juan Carlos MedinaKate Brooke21 September 2018 (2018-09-21)1.64
3Episode 3Alice TroughtonKate Brooke28 September 2018 (2018-09-28)1.42
4Episode 4Alice TroughtonKate Brooke & Tom Farrelly5 October 2018 (2018-10-05)1.15
5Episode 5Alice TroughtonCharlene James12 October 2018 (2018-10-12)1.19
6Episode 6Sarah WalkerCharlene James19 October 2018 (2018-10-19)1.06
7Episode 7Sarah WalkerSarah Dollard26 October 2018 (2018-10-26)1.29
8Episode 8Sarah WalkerKate Brooke2 November 2018 (2018-11-02)1.21

Production

Warner Bros. purchased the film rights to A Discovery of Witches in 2011.[7] The film was in the early stages of development, with few details released beyond the signing-on of playwright David Auburn to pen the screenplay and producers Denise Di Novi and Allison Greenspan.[8]

British entertainment channel, Sky One, bought the rights for the books, to adapt them into a television programme.[9] Teresa Palmer was cast as Diana Bishop and Matthew Goode was cast as Matthew Clairmont. After six months of filming, it was completed on 16 February 2018.[10] Much of the work was filmed in Wales, on location and at Bad Wolf studios in Cardiff.[11]

On 2 November 2018, Sky One renewed A Discovery of Witches for a second and a third series before the first series finale was broadcast.[12][13] A first look at Season 2 was released in September 2019.[14] In December 2019, it was announced that the filming for the next series was completed in the UK, and the rest of the filming would take place in Monselice in Italy.[15]

Release

The programme premiered in the UK on Sky One on 14 September 2018 with its first series of eight episodes. Streaming on NOW TV also started on that date after each episode was broadcast. The international distribution of the programme is handled by Sky Vision.[16][17] From January 2019, the series became available on AMC's subscription services Sundance Now, Shudder, and AMC Premiere.[18][19][20]

It was announced by AMC Networks at the TCA press tour that the show would be making its American television debut on April 7, 2019 on AMC and BBC America, being paired with Killing Eve's second season.[21][22]

Reception

Critical reception

The programme received positive reviews from critics, who praised the adaptation, the production and the performances of the cast. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 94% approval rating with an average rating of 7/10 based on 32 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "A Discovery of Witches smartly grounds its flights of fancy with a lived-in authenticity and harnesses the chemistry between its two star-crossed leads to make for a promising foray into the occult."[23] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 66 out of 100 based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[24]

Accolades

In October 2018, A Discovery of Witches was nominated in the longlist for Best New Drama in the National Television Awards.[25] In January 2019, it was announced as a nominee for the shortlist of Best New Drama series nominees at the 24th National Television Awards.[26]

References
  1. "A Discovery of Witches (TV Series)". Film Affinity. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  2. Romano, Nick (22 November 2017). "A Discovery of Witches TV series summons first trailer". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  3. Lenker, Maureen Lee (11 September 2017). "A Discovery of Witches adds Sherlock and Game of Thrones actors". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  4. Lenker, Maureen Lee (11 September 2017). "A Discovery of Witches adds Sherlock and Game of Thrones actors". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  5. "Meet the cast of A Discovery of Witches". Radio Times. 17 September 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  6. "Four-screen dashboard". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board.
  7. Brown, Phil (July 21, 2011). "Warner Brothers Acquires A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES". Collider.com. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  8. Eisenberg, Eric (Jan 10, 2012). "Deborah Harkness' A Discovery Of Witches To Be Adapted By David Auburn". Cinema Blend. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  9. Andrew, G.G. "What We Know About the 'A Discovery of Witches' TV Show So Far". BookBub. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  10. "ADiscoveryOfWitchesTV on Instagram: "That's a wrap!! Keep following us for flashbacks, throwbacks and even the odd witchwednesday to our incredible 6 months filming season 1...."". Instagram.
  11. "When is A Discovery of Witches released on Sky One? Who is in the cast, and what's going to happen?". RadioTimes. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  12. White, Peter (2 November 2018). "Sky Hands Supernatural Drama 'A Discovery Of Witches' Bumper Two-Season Order". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  13. "A Discovery of Witches seasons 2 AND 3 confirmed by Sky". Digital Spy. 2 November 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  14. Megan Davies (2019-09-05). "A Discovery of Witches - Sky releases season 2 first-look picture". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  15. "'A Discovery Of Witches' Season 2 Filming Wraps In UK". International Business Times. 30 December 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  16. "Sky Corporate". Sky. Retrieved 2018-09-25.
  17. "A Discovery Of Witches". bad-wolf.com. Retrieved 2018-09-25.
  18. "A Discovery of Witches - All Episodes Available To Stream Ad-Free". SUNDANCE NOW.
  19. "Watch A Discovery of Witches on Shudder". SHUDDER.
  20. "What's on".
  21. "A Discovery of Witches will make its US Television Debut on BBC America and AMC on April 7th". BBC America. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  22. "A Discover of Witches will Air on AMC and BBC America". Collider. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  23. "A Discovery of Witches: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  24. "A Discovery of Witches: Season 1". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  25. "Here are all the nominees for the National TV Awards 2019, including Strictly, Doctor Who and Ant & Dec". Deadline Hollywood. October 16, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  26. "Ant and Dec up against Holly at NTAs". BBC News. UK: BBC. 7 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
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