Meet The Secret Circle's Secret Coven of Witches
Move over vampires: It's time for witches to shine.
Thursday marks the premiere of The Secret Circle, a fish-out-of-water tale about an orphaned girl who discovers she's part of a secret coven of young witches who are coming into their own and discovering their powers.
For those who haven't read the L.J. Smith novels the series is based on — and even if you have, the Kevin Williamson and Andrew Miller-produced CW show will be quite different — we asked the actors portraying the six witches of the coven about what's brewing with their characters. Let's meet the witches:
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Cassie Blake (Britt Robertson)
The new girl in Chance Harbor, Cassie was forced to return to her family's hometown after her mother was mysteriously murdered in a fire. Thrust into the world of magic, Cassie also will be faced with a more puzzling challenge: Her future is "written in the stars" with fellow witch Adam. Whatever that means.
Good or evil: "A little bit of both," Robertson says.
Power's a-blazin': "She likes to play with fire."
Power Robertson would like in real life: "The power of flight."
Struggles Cassie will face: "Initially the struggle is deciding to embrace the witchcraft or run from them like her mom did. Going further, you'll find that her dad and her past have a more evil side. Cassie is taking on the role of Faye [see below] a little bit and starting to rub the sticks together and create a little turmoil with the circle. She's trying to dive a little deeper in the magic world, a little too deep."
Why viewers should like Cassie: "Because she's pretty [Laughs]. Just kidding. Because she's a superhero. The great thing about being supernatural is that they can literally do anything at anytime."
Adam Conant (Thomas Dekker)
Eternally conflicted hunk Adam finds himself in the throes of a love triangle. Though he loves his childhood sweetheart, Diana, he feels himself being pulled in Cassie's direction. Unlike most of the other coven members, Adam is just naturally good, brave and steadfast in his ways.
Good or evil: "Good, for now," Dekker says with a grin.
Power of love: "Controlling the elements, harnessing himself and others with nature and trying to control the out-of-control magic that occurs when he and Cassie are together now."
Power Dekker would like in real life: "To be able to teleport myself to wherever I wanted at any given time because I'm sick of airplanes."
Struggles Adam will face: "He's obviously dealing with the champagne problem of a love triangle with two really beautiful women. He's struggling to keep order in himself and the circle. As much as he likes to think he's in control, he's just as much of a mess as everybody else."
Why viewers will like Adam: "At the root of his heart, he's a good person and probably one of the best in the show. He doesn't have an agenda and he doesn't want to hurt anybody, yet he seems to keep doing it over and over again." [Laughs]
Diana Meade (Shelley Hennig)
The epitome of good, Diana is the leader of the coven who welcomes Cassie with open arms, though the sparking flame between her boyfriend and the new girl occurs unbeknownst to her. Also, just because she's good, doesn't mean her father (Gale Harold) is.
Good or evil: "She's a good witch, but you never know what's going to happen," Hennig says.
Undiscovered powers: "As of now, we do crazy magic as a group and we're on the verge of finding out what each of us can do."
Power Hennig would like in real life: "There's so many things I'd want. I think I'd get greedy. I'd like to fly on a broom instead of sitting in traffic for an hour."
Struggles Diana will face: "There's going to be a triangle between Adam, Cassie and Diana. There's the relationship with Diana's dad, you may find out more about that. And keeping the group together. She's the leader of the circle and that's a lot of responsibility, especially when you're dealing with people who want to use magic for evil."
Why viewers will like Diana: "She's sexy, she's smart and she's what most girls are aspiring to be," Dekker offers. "And she does well in school," Hennig adds.
Secret Circle's Phoebe Tonkin is one of TVGuide.com's stars to watch this year
Faye Chamberlain (Phoebe Tonkin)
Resident bad girl Faye takes pleasure is other's discomfort, especially Cassie's when it comes to all things magic. Her devilish ways are only matched by her mother (Natasha Henstridge), the high school principal who keeps a close eye on the coven.
Good or evil: "I think she doesn't know yet," Tonkin says honestly. "She starts out as a bad witch, but she starts to see that she's got some serious power now and that means some serious consequences. I think that's when Faye starts realizing her actions may end up hurting someone."
Elemental power: "All the elements are a big part of the show — fire, wind, water, earth — it's all those nature elements."
Power Tonkin would like in real life: "To fly because I hate getting on planes."
Struggles Faye will face: "We're going to revisit some ex-boyfriends of Faye's. She's had some bad ex-boyfriends that have broken her heart. Her mom is obviously not a great influence and we're going to explore that. It's going to be nice to see exactly where Faye comes from."
Why viewers should like Faye: "Ultimately she's not trying to hurt anyone. She's just trying to have fun. I think everyone can relate to just trying to have fun and not realizing that their actions have consequences. When she starts to realize what she's doing is quite bad, she really does feel bad about it."
Melissa Glaser (Jessica Parker Kennedy)
Faye's insecure sidekick, Melissa, tries to find herself in the growing coven.
Good or evil: "She doesn't know," Kennedy explains. "She struggles with it every day. Faye is her best friend and she genuinely loves her, but Faye is kind of a naughty girl."
Coven power: "When we come together our powers are really strong, as opposed to when we're apart."
Power Kennedy would like in real life: "This is so boring, but I would really want to fly."
Struggles Melissa will face: "That moral dilemma between good versus evil. She goes through a pretty crazy transformation a couple episodes down the road. She's also dealing with romance in her life."
Why viewers should like Melissa: "She's one of the most earthy characters on this show. She really is passionate, speaks from her gut. There's a groundedness to her where all the other characters are figuring out what they want and what's going on. Even though she's having that moral dilemma, she's happy to speak about it. She's also got cool fashion sense."
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Nick Armstrong (Louis Hunter)
Neighbor to new girl Cassie, Nick is the quiet and mysterious bad boy who uses his good looks to his advantage.
Good or evil: "I think he's good at heart," Hunter says. "All the core cast is good at heart, but things get in the way of that: Egos, vanity, greed and lust. He means well. He finds it hard to express it, especially through words. A couple of episodes in, you'll start to see who he is underneath the skin, underneath the brooding Edward Cullen face."
Planting powers: "He has an especially good green thumb. He plants herbs, a special kind of herb that may be his own design that gets people happy."
Power Hunter would like in real life: "To control time."
Struggles Nick will face: "His parents died when he was about five years old and he's never recuperated from that. He's still dealing with issues of abandonment. In the next few episodes, he falls head over heels in love with someone who helps him get over the problems about connecting to another person, out of a lack of fearing of losing them again. He starts to become a man in his own right. That's his journey."
Why viewers will like Nick: "The rest of the characters are going through a really traumatic time, hormonal changes as teenagers, but Nick is the most damaged, the most hurt, broken and estranged character out of all of them. It gives you something to sympathize with. At the same time, he's the bravest one in terms of running to the rescue of someone who's in need."
Which witch sounds the most interesting so far?
The Secret Circle premieres Thursday at 9/8c on The CW.
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