Anne Rice made a deal with AMC before she ed away and the world of her novels will arrive in two different TV series. The first series coming is Interview With the Vampire, which was previously made into a movie. However, the second series is one that many fans might not be as knowledgeable about: Mayfair Witches.
While Rice remains best known for her work on The Vampire Chronicles series, she said that she wanted to create something that compared to The Turn of the Screw. The Mayfair Witches novel series has stood the test of time, and here is what fans need to know about the AMC series.
It's In The Same World As Interview With The Vampire
Mayfair Witches is set in the same world as Interview With the Vampire and The Vampire Chronicles. There is no word on whether the characters will crossover on the two AMC shows, but Louis, one of the man vampires in Interview With the Vampire crossed over with The Mayfair Witches characters in the novels.
Characters from the Mayfair Witches novels appeared in The Vampire Chronicles novels Merrick, Blackwood Farm, and Blood Canticle. The novel Merrick is actually named after Merrick Mayfair, a cousin of the Mayfairs in that series.
Did AMC Acquire The Rights To All Books?
There are three books in The Mayfair Witches series. The first novel was called The Witching Hour, the second was Lasher, and the final part of the trilogy was Taltos. While this is nowhere near as many novels as The Vampire Chronicles, it is a self-contained trilogy that should make for three good seasons.
There are rumors that each season of Interview With the Vampire and Mayfair Witches will cover a different novel. If this is true, then Mayfair Witches will only last three seasons and could bring in Louis from Interview With the Vampire right off the bat.
What Is Mayfair Witches About?
Mayfair Witches was Anne Rice's trilogy that she released from 1990 to 1994. The characters continued with her Vampire Chronicles series from 2000 to 2003. The original trilogy was about a neurosurgeon named Rowan Mayfair who learns she is the heir to a line of witches in her family.
Unlike her vampire novels, which play with the mythos of the undead as a gothic romance, The Mayfair Witches series is more about the world of the occult. From a ghost story to tales of witchcraft and demonism to a look back at history, Rice created her mystical masterpiece with this series.
Who Are The Characters?
The main character in Mayfair Witches is Rowan Mayfair, a neurosurgeon who takes the role of the leader of her family line of witches. Michael Curry is a man that Rowan brings back to life who ends up with extrasensory powers. This is what led to the other main character.
Lasher is a ghost who haunts the Mayfair family. He is an evil being connected with the Mayfairs for years, seducing and tempting the family. It is his belief that Rowan can bring him back to the land of the living. However, what is great about the stories is the rest of Rowan's relatives, possibly the most dysfunctional family in the world.
Alexandra Daddario Will Star As Rowan In Mayfair Witches
With Mayfair Witches based on powerful women, it was important for the show to find a perfect person to play the lead role of Rowan Mayfair. Alexandra Daddario was recently cast as Rowan in the series. Rowan will play the neurosurgeon who learns she is the heir to a family of witches.
She then has to grapple with her new power and position in the family. Daddario has appeared in TV shows like True Detective and American Horror Story and in movies like San Andreas and Texas Chainsaw 3D.
Jack Huston Will Play Lasher
When it comes to the ghost, Lasher, from The Witching Hour, Jack Huston has signed on for the role. Since Lasher becomes human at the end of the first book, Huston keeps a lead role in the stories throughout the trilogy, so he is mostly the second lead of the series.
Fans know Huston from House of Gucci, which earned him a SAG nomination for his role as Domenico De Sole.
Who Else Is Starring In Mayfair Witches?
The cast is deep after the two lead roles. Playing the role of Cortland Mayfair, the patriarch of the Mayfair family, is Harry Hamlin of L.A. Law fame. Character actor Beth Grant, who had roles in movies like Donnie Darko and Little Miss Sunshine, will play Carlotta, a cruel and dangerous Mayfair family member.
Erica Gimpel will play Ellie, who adopted Rowan with the promise never to tell her about her legacy. More major Mayfair family should be announced closer to the show's release date.
Esta Spalding & Michelle Ashford Are Showrunners
Mayfair Witches, a show about strong women who don't let anyone push them around, also has two women running the show behind the scenes. Esta Spalding and Michelle Ashford signed on to work on the Anne Rice series for AMC and the two women previously worked together on Masters of Sex.
Spalding is the showrunner of the show, leading the way with a writer's room that includes Ashford. Spalding was also the executive producer on the Party of Five reboot. Ashford also wrote episodes of The Pacific, Boomtown. and the original 21 Jump Street series.
How Many Episodes Will Mayfair Witches Have?
Mayfair Witches will air for eight episodes. Many AMC shows have longer seasons, such as Fear the Walking Dead, which has 16. However, with Mayfair Witches, AMC has a different plan.
This is more like what Disney+ does with its Marvel and Star Wars shows, which almost always last around six episodes. Since the two are similar, based on popular characters in pop culture, it makes more sense to keep it at a limited length to keep fans wanting more.
AMC Will Release The Series After Interview With The Vampire
Interview With the Vampire will arrive first on AMC and it will premiere in the fall of 2022. The series tells the story of a vampire named Lestat, who turns a brothel owner named Louis into a vampire. The two go on to travel together and eventually turn a young girl named Claudia into a vampire to complete their family, but things don't end well.
There is no telling if AMC will connect the two shows in the first seasons, but Mayfair Witches will arrive after Interview With the Vampire. AMC also said that it will premiere in late 2022, so there should not be much time between the two, and the network might want to connect them so as to keep fans interested in following both.