Witches, Warlocks, and Vampires, Oh My! Coven Academy Is About To Be Your Next Supernatural TV Obsession
If you’re looking for a witchy new show to fill that Charmed-shaped hole in your heart, Coven Academy might just be it. From High School Musical: The Musical: The Series showrunner Tim Federele comes Freeform’s new teen drama, which blends the high-stakes storytelling of a microdrama with traditional television production. The show serves up a mix of sisterhood, love triangles, and a supernatural murder mystery that needs solving.
Coven Academy stars Malina Weissman as Briar Roberts, a closed-off teenager who believes she’s being sent to a school for troubled girls after her mother’s death. Instead, she discovers she’s a witch and that there may be more to her mother’s murder than it seems. Initially hesitant to let anyone in, Briar gradually forms a strong bond with Tegan (Ora Duplass), a time-bending witch, and Sasha (Jordan Leftwich), an empath witch, who may have secrets of their own. The trio become a strong sisterhood as they learn to rely on one another, hold each other accountable, and recognize that they’re more powerful together.
Of course, no soapy supernatural drama is complete without a love triangle. Briar finds herself torn between newly turned vampire Ollie (Louis Thresher) and Jake, a warlock dabbling in dark magic. Both are dangerous yet sensitive and see Briar for who she really is. It was funny to see Disney Channel It boy Malachi Barton’s war against vampires when he plays one in the Zombies franchise and he taps into this dramatic role well. Now the real question is: Are you Team Vampire or Team Warlock?
The adults get to have some fun too. We get a nice full circle moment as teen idols Tiffani Thiessen and Devon Sawa join the cast as teachers. It also makes a nice cast balance for all generations who grew up with them and whose children are likely growing up with the new Disney Channel stars. And, of course, if Devon Sawa is involved you know things are about to get sinister.
The fast-paced nature of the series was a lot of fun, with plenty of twists and turns along the way. The magic is particularly entertaining, bringing everything from time travel, shapeshifting, telekinesis, and portals to the precarious balance of light and dark magic. The episodes move quickly and the show really takes advantage of each cliffhanger to push you to the next episode. Across 21 short episodes, ranging from 10-22 minutes, the series manages to pack in an impressive amount of story and world-building. In fact, I’d be curious to see them take the concept one step further and actually cut the episodes vertically and release them on social media as a microdrama series. It would be interesting to see how it performs in that format.
Coven Academy wraps up with plenty of unanswered questions, teasing even more mystery and magic to come. Here’s hoping we get the chance to keep exploring this world! The teen drama seems to be making a comeback and I’m here for it. With Freeform and Disney+ experimenting with more supernatural stories, it feels like a return to the days of The Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle. Hopefully this is ushering in a new era of the witchy teen drama!
Coven Academy premieres October 1 on Freeform and then the full season hits Disney+ and Hulu on October 2.
