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As winter takes hold, and you feel the cold in your bones, know that it’s not just the season, but the slow drifting of the Mayfair Witches to your home, as they arrive in the new year. Also titled Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches, the new AMC series is the latest adaptation from author Anne Rice’s novel trilogy Lives of the Mayfair Witches. The series joins the other recent adaptation of Rice’s work on the network, Interview with the Vampire, making this the second television series based on the author’s Immortal Universe. Mayfair Witches aims to focus on the first novel in the series, The Witching Hour, and follows a neurosurgeon, Dr. Rowan Fielding, who learns that she is the descendant and heiress to an influential family of witches who seem to be haunted by a dark spirit.
The supernatural fantasy horror series is created by Esta Spalding and Michelle Ashford, who also serve as executive producers on the show, along with Mark Johnson, Anne Rice (posthumously), and Christopher Rice. In December 2021, AMC ordered this eight-episode series along with Interview with the Vampire, the latter released earlier this year. At the New York Comic-Con in October 2022, the network announced the release date and the official trailer for the series, adding to their long list of horror series.
If you thought the supernatural elements in Interview with the Vampire (the series) were complex, then wait for the magic and mayhem that is about to unfold in Mayfair Witches. And while you wait for it to arrive, check out the guide below to learn about the plot, trailer, release date, cast and characters, and everything we know so far about Mayfair Witches.
Editor's Note: This article was last updated on January 3.
When Is Mayfair Witches’ Release Date?
Mayfair Witches was earlier set to release on January 5, 2023, but was later rescheduled to release on Sunday, January 8, 2023, at 9/8c, with a simulcast of the first episode across various AMC channels, specifically AMC, BBC America, Sundance TV, IFC, and WE TV. Following the premiere, the series will air and stream weekly with new episodes arriving on AMC and AMC+.
How Many Episodes Are There in Mayfair Witches?
Mayfair Witches is slated to have eight episodes, with the first two episodes releasing on the day of the premiere, i.e., on January 8, 2023. The following six episodes will release weekly on the same day. Check out the episode schedule below:
Episode 1: "The Witching Hour", written by Michelle Ashford and Esta Spalding, January 8, 2023.
Episode 2: "The Dark Place", written by Michael Goldbach, January 15, 2023
Episode 3: "Second Line", written by Sarah Cornwell, January 22, 2023
Episode 4: "Curiouser and Curiouser", written by Lindsey Villarreal, January 29, 2023
Episode 5: "The Thrall", written by Sean Reycraft, February 5, 2023
Episode 6: Written by Mary Angelica Molina, February 12, 2023
Episode 7: Written by Sarah Cornwell & Esta Spalding, February 19, 2023
Episode 8: Written by Esta Spalding, February 26, 2023
Michael Uppendahl, Haifaa Al-Mansour, and Axelle Carolyn are credited as directors of different episodes for the series.
Is there a Mayfair Witches Trailer?
The official trailer of Mayfair Witches, released recently, is most likely to give you a similar vibe to Interview with the Vampire, but there’s no blood-sucking undead walking around (or is there?). It’s more of the grim, gothic atmosphere and the tension-laden narrative that are probably similar in both stories. The clip suggests that, like with her other stories, Rice’s take on the lives of witches will also be through the eyes of an unaware, inexperienced novice, who will dig into the history of the Mayfair dynasty and discover her true identity. The trailer also shows, through the gorgeous and sort of trippy cinematography that this fantasy tale is going be a few notches above and beyond what we are used to seeing in the genre. It’s almost like walking through a story game. Additionally, beyond all the fantastical settings, the series will also explore magic and mythology, secret societies, and more such aspects of witchcraft that will make it a more mysterious experience. There’s also a promo clip highlighting Rowan as “the key”, which you can see below:
Who's In the Mayfair Witches Cast?
AMC has put together an interesting ensemble cast for Mayfair Witches and it’s headlined by Alexandra Daddario (The White Lotus), Harry Hamlin, Tongayi Chirisa, and Jack Huston. Daddario stars as the story’s protagonist, Dr. Rowan Fielding, a neurosurgeon who finds out about her ancestry connected to the Mayfair dynasty of witches; Hamlin as Cortland Mayfair, the patriarch of the current Mayfair family, Chirisa as Ciprien Grieve, and Huston as a shape-shifting entity tied to the witches’ family for centuries. Grieve is not a character taken directly from the original novels, rather he is a combination of two characters, Michael Curry and Aaron Lightner, both of whom appear in The Witching Hour.
In other recurring roles, there’s Annabeth Gish as Deirdre Mayfair, Rowan’s estranged mother, Beth Grant as Carlotta Mayfair, Erica Gimpel as Ellie Mayfair, and Jen Richards as Jojo.
Who Are the Creators of Mayfair Witches?
The AMC production is created by Esta Spalding and Michelle Ashford and comes from the producer of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, Mark Johnson, both of which were hit AMC originals. Spalding is an American author, screenwriter, and poet, who's best known for working on FX’s The Bridge, CBS’s Battle Creek, and Showtime’s Masters of Sex and On Becoming a God in Central Florida. Ashford is an Emmy-nominated writer and producer, best known for writing and producing HBO’s The Pacific, and Showtime’s Masters of Sex. Mayfair Witches is directed by Michael Uppendahl (Mad Men), Haifaa Al-Mansour (Tales of the Walking Dead), and Axelle Carolyn (The Midnight Club). Anne Rice and her son, Christopher Rice, are also credited as executive producers.
When and Where Was Mayfair Witches Filmed?
The filming for Mayfair Witches took place in New Orleans, which is also Rice’s birthplace and the location of her antebellum mansion where The Witching Hour is based. Production for the series wrapped up in early September 2022.
What Is the Background of Mayfair Witches?
Mayfair Witches is the second AMC project in Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe, the first one being Interview with the Vampire, released this fall. Mayfair Witches is based on the novel series Lives of the Mayfair Witches by Rice. The series started in 1990 with the first book in the trilogy, The Witching Hour, followed by Lasher in 1993, and Taltos in 1994. All three books were on the New York Times Best Sellers list. The trilogy revolves around an influential and powerful family of witches who are guided by a spirit called Lasher. The first novel introduces Rowan Mayfair, a descendant and the latest heir of the Mayfair family in New Orleans. The family is a dynasty of witches who commune with and control a prevailing entity named Lasher. The arrival of Rowan into the family makes her the 13th witch and completes the coven, making Rowan the key, which will be the main focus of the series.Rice’s other series, The Vampire Chronicles, has also been adapted earlier into two Hollywood films, Interview with the Vampire in 1994, starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, and Queen of the Damned in 2002 starring Aaliyah. The latest AMC series aims to delve deeper into the Immortal Universe, unlike the movie adaptations.
What Is the Story of Mayfair Witches?
Taking from the first novel of Anne Rice’s trilogy, Mayfair Witches will focus on the protagonist, Rowan, a young neurosurgeon based in California. After the recent death of her estranged mother, Deirdre, Rowan finds out, much to her shock that she is the new heiress to a certain famous family of the Mayfair. As she explores more of her family history and background, she realizes that she also has certain powers. While she struggles with her newfound powers and tries to adapt to her new identity, Rowan must also deal with a sinister force that has been present in the family and haunted them for generations. From here on, if the series gets a go-ahead for more seasons, then the future episodes could include the other two books in the novel series.