Page 4 - PROGRESS.3.16.19

4 April 7 - 13, 2019 cover story
By Kyla Brewer
TV Media
El Dorado News-Times
AnewTVseriesisabouttocastits YalehistorianDianaBishop(Teresa spellonNorthAmerica.Witches, Palmer,“LightsOut,”2016)isresearch-
begins to blossom between the two, but love between witches and vampires is forbidden,accordingtoalong-standing rule.Allthewhile,Bishopstrugglesto control her newly awakened powers, and Clairmont endeavors to protect her. Trouble brews between supernatural factions as vampires and witches go head to head, upsetting the equilibrium that’s existed between the two groups for many years.
What follows is a captivating tale about a centuries-old conflict and a fresh love affair, brought to life by a capable cast. Palmer is no stranger to the supernatural genre, having ap- peared in the romantic zombie comedy “Warm Bodies” (2013) and the horror film“LightsOut”(2016).TheAustralian actress also co-wrote and co-produced the drama “The Ever After” (2014).
Goode earned a Teen Choice nomi- nation for his breakthrough role in the romantic comedy “Chasing Liberty,” and was also praised for his work in “Brideshead Revisited” (2008). Fans
of superhero films may recognize him as Ozymandias from the 2009 film “Watchmen.” His television credits include “Downton Abbey,” “The Good Wife,” “Dancing on the Edge” and Net- flix’s “The Crown,” for which he earned an Emmy nomination.
Thecastof“ADiscoveryofWitches” also includes Edward Bluemel (“The Commuter,” 2018) as Clairmont’s vampire son and lab colleague, Marcus Whitmore.AiyshaHart(“Atlantis”) plays Miriam Shephard, another vampire who works at Oxford. British film and television actor Trevor Eve (“Waking the Dead”) is seen as ancient vampire Gerbert d’Aurillac.Tony win- ner Lindsay Duncan (“Rome”) portrays the vampire matriarch of the Clairmont family,Ysabeau de Clermont.
The show’s Wiccans include Lou-
ise Brealey (“Sherlock”) as Gillian Chamberlain, another academic and Bishop’s fellow witch at Oxford. “Game of Thrones” alum Owen Teale stars as high-ranking witch Peter Knox, while Swedish actress Malin Buska (“The Girl King,” 2015) appears as Finnish witch Satu Jarvinen.Alex Kingston, who memorably appeared in both “ER” and “Doctor Who,” portrays Bishop’s aunt, Sarah, while Valarie Pettiford (“Half & Half”) plays
Sarah’s partner, Emily.
Alex Kingston as seen in “A Discovery of Witches”
tures a cast of recurring characters that includes demons Agatha Wilson (Tanya Moodie,“Sherlock”),Agatha’sson,Na- thaniel(DanielEzra,“Prey”),hiswife, Sophie (Aisling Loftus, “War & Peace”), and Hamish Osborne (Greg McHugh,
“ G a r y : Ta n k C o m m a n d e r ” ) . J u l i e t t e D u - rand (Elarica Johnson, “EastEnders”), Domenico Michele (Gregg Chillin, “Da Vinci’s Demons”), Marthe (Sorcha Cu- sack, “Father Brown”) and Matthew’s brother, Baldwin Montclair (Trystan Gravelle, “Mr Selfridge”), round out the vampires.The program features a few humans, including librarian Sean (Ad- etomiwa Edun, “Merlin”). Chloé Dumas (“The Follower,” 2017) appears as the mysterious Meridiana.
Averagingmorethanamillionview- ers per episode on Sky One, the show’s initial run was a smashing success by U.K. standards. Buzz has already been building about Seasons 2 and 3, which will be based on the second and third books in the series, “Shadow of Night” and “The Book of Life.” As the story continues, the series is expected to delve into Clairmont’s past and explore the mysteries surrounding Bishop’s powers.
TV aficionados predict the series will find an enthusiastic audience in North America, where the supernatural TV trendisstillgoingstrong,thanksto shows such as “The Walking Dead,” “Charmed” and “Supernatural.” While TV fans across the pond will have to waitforSeasons2and3,thefunisjust getting started for TV viewers on this side of the Atlantic.
demons and vampires have been populating prime time for decades, and
ing alchemy at Oxford when she stumbles upon a magical manuscript in
Bewitched
AMC’s ‘A Discovery of Witches’ blends magic and romance
television’s latest import brings them all together in one enchanting tale of dan- gerous magic and forbidden love.
“A Discovery of Witches,” premiering Sunday,April7,onAMCandBBCAmer- ica. Bishop, a witch, has suppressed her powerssinceherparentswerekilled forbeingwitcheswhenshewasjust
a child. However, the book awakens her latent magical abilities and she’s soon approached by Oxford biochemist Matthew Clairmont (Matthew Goode, “Chasing Liberty,” 2004), a vampire, who offers to help her.
Based on the “All Souls” trilogy of novels by Deborah Harkness, the eight- episode series originally premiered in the U.K. on Sky One in September 2018. An instant hit with audiences and crit- ics, the show has already been renewed for two more seasons by Sky One, and it was nominated for a National Televi- sionAwardacrossthepond.Following its success overseas,AMC announced during the Television Critics Associa- tion (TCA) Press Tour in February that
it would bring the program to North American audiences.
“Thanks to the critical acclaim and overwhelmingly positive audience re- sponse to ‘A Discovery of Witches,’ the series has found a new legion of fans,” AMC executive Sarah Barnett said. “We are thrilled to bring it to a wider audience.”
As the story unravels, Bishop and Clairmont embark on a thrilling ad- venture to uncover the mystery behind the origins of magical beings, such as themselves, whose populations have
beendwindlingfordecades.Romance “ADiscoveryofWitches”alsofea-
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