Sky Hands Supernatural Drama ‘A Discovery Of Witches’ Bumper Two-Season Order
Sky is doubling down on A Discovery of Witches – hanging the supernatural drama a bumper two season order.
The British pay-TV giant has ordered seasons two and three of the Bad Wolf-produced series after the first season become the biggest drama on Sky One this year.
Downton Abbey and The Good Wife star Goode stars as vampire Matthew Clairmont, while Hacksaw Ridge‘s Teresa Palmer plays heroine Diana Bishop in the series.
A Discovery Of Witches is the first installment of Harkness’ All Souls Trilogy, which has sold more than 3.5M copies worldwide. Originally published in 2011, Discovery is the story of Diana, a young scholar at Oxford who is a descendant of the Salem witches. When she accidentally unlocks an enchanted manuscript, she is compelled to embrace the magic in her blood and enters a forbidden romance with charming 1,500-year-old vampire Matthew. The second All Souls novel, Shadow Of Night, was published in 2012 by The Book Of Life in 2014. Kate Brooke (Mr Selfridge) penned the first season adaptation and was showrunner.
In the second season, Goode and Palmer return, this time hiding in time in the treacherous world of Elizabethan London, where they must find a powerful witch teacher to help Diana control her magic and search for the elusive Book of Life.
Season two will also see the return of Owen Teale (Game of Thrones), Alex Kingston (Doctor Who), Lindsay Duncan (The Honourable Woman), Valarie Pettiford (Half & Half), Edward Bluemel (The Commuter), Aiysha Hart (Line of Duty), Trevor Eve (Waking the Dead), Malin Buska (The Girl King) and Gregg Chillin (Being Human).
Season two will be written by Sarah Dollard (Doctor Who, Being Human) and Susie Conklin (The Musketeers, Cranford), who will also serve as an Executive Producer alongside co-founders of Bad Wolf, Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner, and Lachlan MacKinnon along with Deborah Harkness.
A Discovery of Witches was commissioned for Sky One by Sky’s head of drama Anne Mensah. The series is co-funded and distributed internationally by Sky Vision. It has also been sold in 84 territories including to AMC Networks SVODservices Shudder and Sundance Now, as well as SundanceTV in the U.S.
Mensah said, “Season one was a brilliant introduction to the All Souls world and the love story between Diana and Matthew. We can’t wait for the show’s fans to continue the journey with seasons two and three, become more enchanted by the characters and watch the magic further unfold.”
Tranter said, “We were absolutely thrilled that A Discovery of Witches was such a hit with viewers. There was a real sense of community throughout the run as fans old and new joined together to watch each week. We cannot wait to continue the journey with them and, as the show continues to sell around the world, bring a global fanbase to these engaging and fascinating characters.”
Harkness added, “Given how warmly the season was received, I’m thrilled that we will be continuing with the story of the All Souls Trilogy. There is so much to look forward to as we travel into Matthew’s past and delve further into the mysteries surrounding Diana’s power and Ashmole 782.”
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