We learned last summer that Lifetime was developing a pilot based on Melissa de la Cruz's best-selling novel Witches of East End, and today comes word that the drama is going to series. That's just part of the good news. The rest is that it sounds like this witchy drama will make it to air at some point later this year.
Based on de la Cruz's novel, Witches two women who don't yet know that they're their family's next generation of witches. Jenna Dewan-Tatum (American Horror Story: Asylum, Step Up) and Rachel Boston (American Dreams, In Plain Sight) play the mentioned sisters, Freya and Ingrid respectively, and Julia Ormond plays Joanna Beauchamp, their mother. Madchen Amick has been cast to play Joanna's sister Wendy. The story sees Freya getting engaged to a young, rich newcomer, which leads to Joanna having to tell her girls that they're powerful, immortal witches.
The two-sisters theme reminds me a bit of Practical Magic.
TVLine says Lifetime has given the drama a 10-episode order, and that Maggie Friedman is serving as show runner for the series, which is slated to premiere at some point this year.
Beyond Charmed, it doesn't seem like we've seen a lot of major success in more recent years for shows centered on witches, in spite of the ongoing trend of supernatural-themed stories in books, movies and television, with series like The Secret Circle and Eastwick not lasting past their first seasons. Perhaps Lifetime will have better luck with Witches of East End.
