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Entertainment Now | June 26 - July 2, 2021 By Rachel Jones TV Media O ne of Sundance Now's most successful series to date, the highly antic- ipated "A Discovery of Witches" is back with more dra- ma and powerful secrets. The fan- tasy-filled supernatural thriller has captured audiences with its magic and time travel-themed narratives, and Season 2 is arriv - ing on AMC's traditional cable channel on Sunday, June 27. The season will premiere with the first two episodes airing back- to-back on the network, so ex- pect the same harrowing excite- ment, outstanding performances from returning cast and the thrill of multiple new guest stars and storylines. In the 10-episode second sea- son, which first debuted on Sun- dance Now and Shudder in Janu- ary of this year, historian and witch Diana Bishop (Teresa Palm- er, "Hacksaw Ridge," 2016) dis- appears into time with her vam- pire lover, Matthew Clairmont (Matthew Goode, "Watchmen," 2009). After arriving in 1590s Elizabethan London, they contin - ue their quest to protect the Book of Life and seek a powerful witch to teach Diana to control her magic. During their time travels, Mat- thew confronts a face from his past, they meet with Queen Eliza- beth (Barbara Marten, "The Turn- ing," 2020) and the forbidden love between witch and vampire reaches a new level of intimacy. The couple is also hiding in time from the Congregation, a group of daemons, witches and vam- pires that make up the main gov- erning body for the supernatural creatures. Diana and Matthew aren't re- turning alone to continue the ad- ventures. In the present day, Di- ana's aunts, Sarah Bishop (Alex Kingston, "Doctor Who") and Emily Mather (Valarie Pettiford, "Half & Half"), take shelter with witch hunter Ysabeau de Cler- mont (Lindsay Duncan, "Sher- lock") in the ancestral home, Sept-Tours. In Oxford, daemon Sophie Nor- man's (Aisling Loftus, "War & Peace") pregnancy is also ad- vancing. She and her husband, Nathaniel Wilson (Daniel Ezra, "All American"), are protected by vampires Marcus Whitmore (Ed- ward Bluemel, "Killing Eve") and Dr. Miriam Shephard (Aiysha Hart, "Line of Duty"). Adding to the suspense, mem- bers of the Congregation, vam- pire Gerbert D'Aurillac (Trevor Eve, "Waking the Dead") and witch Satu Järvinen (Malin Buska, "The Girl King," 2015), who had previously kidnapped Diana, hunt down clues surrounding Diana and Matthew's disappearance and try to uncover secrets kept by the allies. They are joined in this search by witch Peter Knox (Owen Teale, "Game of Thrones") and vampire Domenico Michele (Gregg Chillin, "A Good Year," 2006). In the way of guest appear- ances, Sheila Hancock ("The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," 2008) stars as the most powerful witch in England, Goody Alsop, whom Diana and Matthew travel through time to find, while James Purefoy ("Rome") plays Mat- thew's father, Philippe de Cler- mont. Steven Cree ("Outlander") is Matthew's nephew Gallow- glass de Clermont, and Adelle Le- once ("Black Mirror") stars as Phoebe Taylor, Marcus Whit- more's beloved. (In an interview with MTV Movies, Leonce and Bluemel share they had met for the first time just before their first-date scene, adding to the show's authenticity.) "A Discovery of Witches" is based on the New York Times bestselling All Souls Trilogy books by Deborah Harkness, with the series name originating from the first book in the trilogy. Produced by Bad Wolf and Sky Productions, Warner Bros. purchased the film rights in 2011 during the early stages of development, and the series has since received multiple positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an impressive 94% rating average across 33 critics for its combina- tion of fantasy and lived-in au- thenticity, making for a "promis- ing foray into the occult." In 2018, the National Television Awards nominated "A Discovery of Witches" on the longlist for Best New Drama. By the follow- ing year, it had made it onto the shortlist in the same category. For those new to the series, Season 1 begins with Diana de- nying her witch heritage until she unexpectedly acquires an ancient manuscript while studying alche- my and science at the University of Oxford: Ashmole 782, aka the Book of Life, an enchanted man- uscript thought to hold the se- crets surrounding the existence of supernatural beings. With the threat of the crea- tures' extinction on the line, Di- ana is thrown into a dangerous journey to unlock the book's se- crets before it falls into the wrong hands. And although witches and vampires aren't supposed to trust each other, she runs into ge- neticist and vampire Matthew, builds an alliance with him and they develop a relationship that violates age-old customs. Dan McDermott, president of original programming of AMC Networks, calls this top-perform- ing series "addictive" and is "thrilled to introduce the show to a wider audience" on AMC. Following its Season 2 cable premiere on June 27, "A Discov- ery of Witches" will air new-to- AMC episodes weekly on Sun- days. Fans of streaming can binge the series on AMC's streaming platforms, Sundance Now and Shudder, before gearing up for the third season, which executive producer Jane Tranter ("Succes- sion," 2018) revealed had com- pleted shooting in February. Great news for fans of the show! For those TV viewers who aren't known to dabble in fanta- sy and supernatural thrillers, "A Discovery of Witches" still offers plenty of seat-gripping thrills, au - thentic performances and addic- tive narratives. So, get ready for the magical experience when Season 2 of "A Discovery of Witches" comes to AMC cable on June 27. A scene from "A Discovery of Witches" Discovering 'Witches': Season 2 comes to AMC 2 | Cover story A/Grindstone Charlie's B/Norris Insurance 1 x 4" Moore's Home Health 5 x 2"

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