WGN America’s hit series Salem premiered this past Sunday and it introduced us to a brand new hereditary witch in Lucy Lawless’s Countess Marburg. We also got to see the incredible power of Anne Hale (Tamzin Merchant), a hereditary witch herself. The hashtag for this season is #WitchWar, and there is a good reason for that. The Essex witches like Mary Sibley (Janet Montgomery) and the ones born with power are going to clash and it’s going to change Salem forever.

The plague is in full swing, John Alden (Shane West) is off with the Mohawk tribe, dealing with some magic of his own and Mercy (Elise Eberle) is up to no good. I got a chance to visit the set of Salem and interview some of the cast and crew, including show creator and showrunner Brannon Braga. We talked about the witch war, the town’s issues with women in power and the magic of the Mohawk.

Check it out below and stay tuned for interviews with the cast. Salem airs on Sunday at 10pm on WGN America.

 

Brannon Braga:

• 00:14 — The men of Salem and their issues with women in power and filling the hole the death of Increase Mather (Stephen Lang) left in the Puritans.
• 01:36 — The differences between hereditary witches like Anne Hale and the character Lucy Lawless will play, and the Essex witches.
• 02:43 — Discussion of the Mohawk culture we’re going to see on the show and their connection to John Alden.