Last summer I talked about AMC’s incredible Murder Lady Sunday, and how they were making likeable (or at least watchable) killers their protagonists. While it’s true that Into the Badlands is coming to an end this season, this spring AMC is bringing A Discovery of Witches to our screens on Sundays at 9pm, starting April 7th.
Brit Witch
I’ve talked about A Discovery of Witches before, and to be honest it aired on SundanceTV already but I know more of you have AMC than SundanceTV so this is a good time for a reminder.
The plot, which is based on the books of the same name, is that the brilliant historian Diana Bishop is a witch in denial. After she accidentally gets her hands on an ancient manuscript at Oxford’s Bodleian library, which could explain the mysteries of the universe, she’s in a brave new world of magic.
Throw in the handsome and enigmatic geneticist Matthew Clairmont, who just so happens to be a vampire, a pair of lesbian aunts, and of course a love story, you get a wild eight episode run of taboos and extinction. Oh and of course ultimate sacrifice.
Quick Witch
Don’t mistake this for a certain sparkly teen drama movie, though. We get Alex Kingston as an overalls wearing lesbian auntie who has to explain to Diana why she was kept in the dark.
There’s actual adherence to a sustainable mythos here. Yes, they take some liberties with ‘traditional’ retelling of magical worlds, but that’s not a bad thing. One of my favourite things is that the vampires are biased against humans, complete with calling them ‘warmbloods.’ While combining science and magic is something that can end badly (see Blade with Wesley Snipes), they handle it carefully and well here.
Which Witch?
You may have noticed that this will air at the same time the CW airs Charmed. We have a head-to-head witch off in our future, and I’m sure you’re wondering which you should watch.
Both.
Charmed gives more of a plot to the lesbian, but A Discovery of Witches has a tight storyline and Alex Kingston. If you can only watch one on a Sunday, please record the other as you’ll enjoy them both.
Set your DVRs to AMC on April 7th at 9pm ET (8pm Central) and check out A Discovery of Witches.
