Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches Deserves A Chance

I’ll be the first to admit Mayfair Witches isn’t the obvious hit that Interview With The Vampire was. With just a few episodes under its belt, it hasn’t popped in the same way that the first of AMC’s Anne Rice Immortal Universe series did. The characters aren’t as vivid yet, and the charming sense of snarky indulgence, sympathetic emotionality, and New Orleans magic has been largely missing. All of that is true, but I’m not ready to throw in the towel. We shouldn’t forget The Office and Taylor Sheridan’s Paramount+ juggernaut Yellowstone wasn’t well received early on. Sometimes things take time to gel.

There are pieces, though, that give me hope. White Lotus’ Emmy-nominated Alexandra Daddario is as well-cast as Rowan. But, for now, her gorgeous blue eyes are enigmatic. She is a cipher of repressed feelings and growing concerns. Daddario is an excellent actress that can play emotionless rage really well. She bristles and cracks with anger, resentment, and hopefulness but all of it are done with the cold blankness of a fish.

That’s by design. Rowan is a force of nature who is just now understanding how dangerous that can be. She didn’t know she could kill someone with merely a thought before and elected to control her temper because she works in a male-dominated field and needed to avoid becoming labeled a hysterical woman. Now that she knows, her fear is messing with her control. A lot is being thrown at Rowan quickly, and Daddario is smart to let her develop organically.

Not everyone needs to radiate sex appeal or rage right away. Yellowstone’s Beth has grown into the powerhouse she is now. Kelly Reilly let her gradually shift from a headstrong hot mess to a complex character who is brilliant and bold but still mesmerizingly messy. Rowan isn’t that kind of character but given a chance, Daddario could easily develop her version of the witch into someone as sexy and strong as the trilogy. Character arcs and dynamics are essential to a plot. Without highs and lows and growth, the story would stagnate. Daddario’s slow rollout of Rowan will pay significant dividends to those patient enough to stick with it.

Lasher is the other lightning rod in the television series. The Lasher we see in the television series is played by Jack Huston of Boardwalk Empire, Season 4 of Fargo, and Antebellum. He’s an interesting choice that I understand viewers’ frustration with. With just two episodes aired, he isn’t the Lasher of the books. That Lasher sizzles and oozes sexuality and menace. He seduces and purrs, strokes and schemes.

This Lasher hasn’t had enough screen time yet to give us the full malevolent might of the magical shadow creature tied to the Mayfair women. However, Huston does long-suffering characters well. In both Fargo and Boardwalk Empire, he is tortured and emotional. I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t read the books, but Rice’s Lasher is both tortured and does his fair share of torturing, which makes him wildly entertaining. If Huston can tap into his inner Joe Goldberg from You, he could be the spark the show needs to dial the sex in.

Fans of the Lives Of The Mayfair Witches’ novels have understandable problems with casting and story changes. The ever-present incestuous angles have been glossed over a bit in the early episodes, but who can blame them for easing us into the horror that is the Mayfair family? Rice writes sex well(seriously, go read her Sleeping Beauty trilogy under the name A. N. Roquelaure), but let’s face facts, some of it might be too much for those unprepared.

Incest isn’t sexy, it’s disturbing, but in Rice’s world, the undercurrent of taboo passion and abuse is a crucial sensual plot beat that the entire story hangs on. That won’t change in the series, but it will be adapted to make it more palatable for a wider audience. That means murkier early days that allow us to develop relationships with all the main players before they beat us over the head with the wallop of family curses, betrayals, and forbidden sex.

Showrunner Esta Spalding and writer Michelle Ashford haven’t removed the most important parts. They have just camouflaged them a bit. In the first two episodes, we see Rowan’s mother get impregnated by a boy who may have been her uncle in disguise and get seduced by a magical being who is much older(don’t even get me started on how much older) than she is. It’s all very smoke and mirrors, though. There is a hint of what happened, but it isn’t spelled out. Mayfair Witches isn’t showing all of its cards yet. Even though those who read the books know what happens, a sense of possibility hangs over the series. Interview With The Vampire changed the characters and the story for the better. Why can’t Mayfair Witches do that too?

I’m optimistic that what we are seeing now is growing pains. Mayfair Witches is finding itself. Like Rowan’s powers, there are glimpses of what the show can become. Proven commodity Harry Hamlin is camping it up with the best of them as Uncle Cortland. His affluent party boy with hideous motivations will be fun to watch. New addition Ciprion(Tongayi Chirisa of Another Life and iZombie) gives us another “good guy” to root for. He is little more than a question mark now, but the mysterious agency he works for and his inevitable relationship with Rowan will be intriguing to explore.

Rowan has barely put boots on the ground in New Orleans, and things have already taken a bloody turn. The change of setting is good for her and the series overall. Like Interview With The Vampire, the city is a character of its own to be exploited and showcased. There is so much of this world that we haven’t seen yet and other parts that we have only gotten disjointed peeks at. It’s early days yet, and I do not doubt that the kernels of brilliance I see every so often will crystallize into a new story that is true to the source material but different enough to make us wonder what will happen next.

Have patience. Give it a chance. Mayfair Witches has all the ingredients of an intoxicating spell. Confounding, alluring, horrific, and electrifying, AMC’s series has potential. So let it wash over you, and stop obsessing about the book. Have faith that it will all come together. I do. New episodes of Mayfair Witches can be found weekly on AMC and AMC +. Look for all our coverage here.