Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Immortal danger
Every now and then, a film or television adaptation comes along that makes you wonder why it hasn’t been adapted sooner — such is the case with author Anne Rice’s Lives of the Mayfair Witches novel trilogy. Following in the footsteps of the author’s “Interview With the Vampire,” “Mayfair Witches” premieres Sunday, Jan. 8, on AMC Networks. Both series are a part of Rice’s Immortal Universe and (the books, at least) have seen some character crossovers.
Originally scheduled to debut its first episode on Jan. 5, “Mayfair Witches’” had its premiere date pushed back by three days but makes up for the minor delay by offering viewers the first two episodes at once, and with a five-network simulcast across AMC Networks: AMC/AMC+, BBC America, IFC, SundanceTV and WEtv. The show will then air a new episode on AMC each Sunday thereafter for the remainder of the eight-episode season.
Like most of Rice’s stories, the Mayfair Witches franchise is set in New Orleans, where filming began in May 2022 and wrapped in September. Set against a backdrop rife with weeping willows, presumably fragrant bougainvilleas and historic homes, “Mayfair Witches” follows a young neurosurgeon named Rowan Fielding (Alexandra Daddario, “The White Lotus”) as she uncovers a series of mysteries linked to her family — a family of powerful New Orleans witches. According to the official synopsis, “as she grapples with her newfound powers, she must contend with a sinister presence that has haunted her family for generations.”
The “sinister presence” in question is the enigmatic entity known as Lasher (Jack Huston, “American Hustle,” 2013), for whom the second book in Rice’s trilogy is named. Thanks to Lasher’s foreboding presence throughout “The Witching Hour,” Rice’s first novel of the series, New York Times writer Patrick McGrath described the character as “possibly … Satan” and noted that “he appears to members of the Mayfair family, mainly the women, as a slim, pale, elegant figure with dark eyes and dark hair and a hypnotically seductive power over any of them reckless enough to entertain him.”
This engaging charm will no doubt transfer well to the screen, thanks to Huston, whose other credits include Capt. Jasper in the 2020 psychological horror “Antebellum” and beat author Jack Kerouac in 2013’s “Kill Your Darlings.”
Leading lady Daddario, meanwhile, uses her wide-eyed blend of innocence and resilience to lend an onscreen balance to the series’ unsettling, villainous energy. Known for her roles in Season 1 of HBO’s “The White Lotus,” the 2017 action comedy “Baywatch” and the 2013 horror spinoff “Texas Chainsaw,” Daddario’s finalgirl energy lends well to the cu
rious inheritor of the powerful Mayfair legacy. In fact, in the series’ official trailer, Daddario’s Rowan can be seen collecting information on the mysterious Mayfairs and their family home before presumably getting dragged into the supernatural antics that include everything from ghosts and demons to coven congregations and possible murder.
Also joining the cast is “Clash of the Titans” (1981) actor Harry Hamlin. Hamlin stars as Cortland Mayfair, the current patriarch of the Mayfair clan. Also a witch himself, Cortland is driven to extreme and often dangerous depths to satisfy his rapacious appetite for wealth, power and control.
Huston’s “Antebellum” costar Tongayi Chirisa rounds out the cast as Ciprien Grieve, a new name even to those familiar with the books. While the nature of Ciprien’s involvement in the series has yet to be explicitly disclosed by AMC, the trailer alludes to his connection to the Telemask, a presumed organization that “exists to investigate the unexplained.” Later in the trailer, Ciprien states that he has been “assigned to observe the Mayfairs” before noting that Rowan’s “gift” is among the strongest he has ever felt.
Among the “Mayfair Witches’” recurring cast members are Annabeth Gish (“The Haunting of Hill House”) as Deirdre Mayfair, Beth Grant (“Donnie Darko,” 2001) as Carlotta Mayfair, Erica Gimpel (“God Friended Me”) as Ellie Mayfair, Jen Richards (“Better Things”) as Jojo and Hannah Alline (“Doom Patrol”) as Suzanne Mayfair, the first of the Mayfair women to call up Lasher.
While much of the novel is set in the past, showrunner Esta Spalding and series cowriter/executive producer Michelle Ashford (both of “Masters of Sex”) explained their decision to keep the majority of the AMC series in the present day, stating their desire to acknowledge the power of women in present-day society.
“The world of witches has fascinated and terrified for centuries,” the pair said in a joint statement, “and yet Anne Rice’s particular lens on witches explored something new altogether: women who are powerful, and often brutal, and always committed to subverting our current power structures.”
And in speaking of powerful women who subvert the status quo, Rice, who died of a stroke at age 80 in December 2021, had previously noted that seeing the Immortal Universe come to life was a lifelong dream of hers.
“It’s always been my dream to see the worlds of my two biggest series united under a single roof so that filmmakers could explore the expansive and interconnected universe of my vampires and witches,” Rice said before her death. “That dream is now a reality and the result is one of the most significant and thrilling deals of my long career.”
Take part in Rice’s long-lived dream and tune in for the twoepisode premiere of “The Mayfair Witches,” airing Sunday, Jan. 8 on AMC, BBC America, IFC, SundanceTV and WEtv, and streaming on AMC+.