Mayfair Witches: Season 1 Review

4 star lavish and seductive supernatural thriller.

Mayfair Witches is a 2023 American supernatural thriller drama series based on the popular novel trilogy Lives of the Mayfair Witches written by Anne Rice (Interview with the Vampire), who also executive produces, alongside her son Christopher Rice. This is fantastic, as you feel you are seeing the story as the author intended to be seen.

It is available to own in the UK on Blu-ray and DVD from 8th January 2024 courtesy of Acorn Media International.

“Why Ro? For months I’ve been watching you from behind the bar. This revolving door of guys. It’s gotta be so lonely.”

Rowan Fielding (Alexandra Daddario – Baywatch, San Andreas) is a seemingly successful pediatric neurosurgeon, living and working in San Francisco. But dig a little deeper and she has insecurities. She lives on a boat as if unable to put down roots and wonders who she really is. Adopted at birth by Elena (Erica Gimpel – Far More, Fame), she longs to know who her biological parents are.

She also faces challenges at work. When she learns that Elena’s cancer has returned and the prognosis is not good, she appeals to chief surgeon Dr. Keck (Jim Gleason – The Iron Claw, Blue Bayou) to help her to get Elena into a clinical trial. He refuses and Rowen pictures his arteries rupturing, causing him to collapse. Terrified of this new power, she turns to Elena, who assures her it’s all in her mind. Secretly though, she contacts an organization called the Talamasca, who send an agent named Ciprien Grieve (Tongayi Chirisa – Antebellum, Palm Springs) to watch over Rowan.

Meanwhile, in New Orleans, a doctor withholds sedatives from a near catatonic patient named Dierdre Mayfair (Annabeth Gish – Before I Wake, The Haunting of Hill House) behind the back of her Aunt Carlotta (Beth Grant – Donnie Darko, Speed). This seems to open a line of communication with a mysterious being known as “The Man” or Lasher (Jack Huston – Ben-Hur, Outlander). As Rowan’s world begins to collide with this family in New Orleans, she must try to adapt to her new reality and make some important decisions about where her priorities lie.

“I had this weird idea that my shadow was this being that was somehow part of me. And he, it seemed like a he, he was someone who knew what I was thinking. He knew my most secret secrets and he loved me and he always had.”

Mayfair Witches is a really enjoyable adaptation of Anne Rice’s work. The sumptuous locations and beautiful costumes evoke a sense of grandeur and sometimes gothic horror which is in keeping with the story. It’s a bit of a rollercoaster, with new characters coming in thick and fast, and it may have benefitted from a couple more episodes to give it the chance to explain things a little better.

What ultimately makes this series is the central performance from Alexandra Daddario, who really sells Rowan, feisty and strong yet caught up in a whirlwind of events beyond her control. Jack Huston is also excellent as Lasher, so evil that he almost smolders in some scenes. There are also some pretty graphic scenes of horror, few and far between but very much worth the wait.