'A Discovery of Witches' Magics Up a U.S. Premiere Date

Matthew Goode and Teresa Palmer in "A Discovery of Witches" (Photo: Sky One)

Matthew Goode as Matthew Clairmont and Teresa Palmer as Diana Bishop - A Discovery of Witches _ Season 1 - Photo Credit: Robert Viglasky/SKY Productions /Sundance Now

© 2018 Sundance Now

The highly anticipated television adaptation of Deborah Harkness’ A Discovery of Witches is coming to America, and sooner than you might think.

The fantasy drama, which is currently airing in the U.K., will be available to stream in full on both Sundance Now and Shudder beginning January 17, 2019.

This partnership is the first between Sundance Now, the SVOD service associated with AMC Networks’ Sundance Channel, and Shudder, a premium streaming service generally known for its focus on horror and thrillers. (I mean, I’m not sure I’d consider this story horror, per se, but I guess it has vampires and stuff, so sure?)

When the exclusive streaming window concludes, the fantasy drama will likely air on cable network Sundance, as it currently holds second window rights to the series. (Basically what this means is, if you don’t have access Shudder or Sundance Now, you’ll be waiting a bit longer for the show to come to terrestrial television.)

Based on Harkness’ bestselling All Souls Trilogy, A Discovery of Witches follows the story of an Oxford professor – who’s also a vampire – and a student, who happens to be a witch descended from the women of Salem. The two find themselves involved in a forbidden love and trapped on the cusp of interspecies magical war.

Also there’s a magical book that everyone’s fighting over. Good times!

Downton Abbey alum Matthew Goode and Hacksaw Ridge actress Teresa Palmer portray the leads in  our supernatural star-crossed vampire/witch romance, and they’ll be joined by a bevy of other familiar faces. These include Doctor Who star Alex Kingston, The Blacklist’s Valarie PettifordSherlock’s Lindsay Duncan, Game of Thrones’ Owen Teale and more.

Watch the trailer for yourselves below:

 

Are you a fan of Harkness’ trilogy? Are you looking forward to A Discovery of Witches? Should I be reading these books? Let’s discuss in the comments.


Lacy Baugher

Lacy's love of British TV is embarrassingly extensive, but primarily centers around evangelizing all things Doctor Who, and watching as many period dramas as possible.

Digital media type by day, she also has a fairly useless degree in British medieval literature, and dearly loves to talk about dream poetry, liminality, and the medieval religious vision. (Sadly, that opportunity presents itself very infrequently.) York apologist, Ninth Doctor enthusiast, and unabashed Ravenclaw. Say hi on Threads or Blue Sky at @LacyMB. 

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