Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches - Season 1

The Mayfairs are likely the most dysfunctional family you ever saw. They are also all witches with significant magical powers, which makes for quite the mix.

This recent AMC show is an adaptation of the 1990 book “The Witching Hour” by Anne Rice. The show centers on Dr. Rowan Fielding (Alexandra Daddario, Why Women Kill), a neurosurgeon who learns she is from a family of powerful witches. She also quickly learns that this family is so powerful partly because of its love-hate relationship with a demon named Lasher (Jack Huston, Boardwalk Empire). She is set to inherit this demon, but does not particularly feel like doing so. In the process of getting to know the family, she is assisted by Ciprien ‘Sip’ Grieve (Tongayi Chirisa, Crusoe), an agent of a secret organization named the Talamasca, tasked with keeping magic safe. Throughout the season, we learn more and more about the (not) functioning of the Mayfair family, everyone’s motives (including Lasher’s) and exactly how messed up the situation is. Warning up front: it ain’t pretty.



I have to say that I did not read the book. Some people have expressed being disappointed in the show for it being a poor adaptation of the books. I can only judge the show on its own, however, and my experience was pleasant enough. Admittedly, there are some moments in which the pace is a bit too slow. Furthermore, I feel like Rowan’s character development is not brought to the screen that well. At the end of every episode, there is an insider from the showrunner, and she has to explain what Rowan is thinking in the episode; without those insights, I would not have understood those thoughts. The personal changes Rowan goes through and the emotions she feels sometimes seem to come out of nowhere.

Eeriness and a constant feeling that something is off

Other than those two points, I really enjoyed the show. Its eeriness and the constant feeling that something is off are brought to the screen well. I wanted to continue watching to know how the story would develop and to know why things were happening. We are fed all information in small pieces and that worked well for me. Furthermore, the actors are good at what they do. The problems in Rowan’s character development do not seem to come from Daddario’s work, but rather from the writing. The rest of the actors are also good, although I am not always sure about Huston as Lasher. Finally, New Orleans, the location for most of the show, is a lovely setting for something so magical.

So, overall, I find the show quite decent. AMC has taken the risk of renewing the show before the end of the season had aired. There is quite some potential here, so I hope they manage to get it out in that second season. For now a 7.5 for the first season.