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Anne Rice’s ‘Lives of the Mayfair Witches’ Series Gets Greenlight at AMC

AMC has officially ordered a series based on the Anne Rice “Lives of the Mayfair Witches” novels, Variety has learned.

The cabler has ordered eight episodes of the show, which is titled “Mayfair Witches.” It was originally announced that AMC had opened a writers room for the series in August under their script to series model.

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The show will focus on an intuitive young neurosurgeon who discovers that she is the unlikely heir to a family of witches. As she grapples with her newfound powers, she must contend with a sinister presence that has haunted her family for generations. It is slated to debut on AMC and AMC Plus in late 2022.

Esta Spalding and Michelle Ashford both serve as writers and executive producers on the series. Spalding, who has an overall deal with AMC Studios, will serve as showrunner. AMC Studios will produce.

“The world of witches has fascinated and terrified for centuries, and yet Anne Rice’s particular lens on witches explored something new altogether – women who are powerful, and often brutal, and always committed to subverting our current power structures,” Spalding and Ashford said. “We are so excited to join our partners AMC and Gran Via Productions in making this mysterious and provocative world come to life.”

This is now the second series based on Rice’s work to get greenlit at AMC after “Interview with the Vampire” starring Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid.

Variety exclusively reported last year that AMC had acquired the rights to Rice’s book series “The Vampire Chronicles” and “The Lives of the Mayfair Witches,” comprising 18 titles in total. Mark Johnson, who also has an overall deal with AMC Studios, is overseeing the development of the books into a streaming and television universe. Anne Rice and her son Christopher will serve as executive producers on all series and films developed under the deal.

“2022 will be the biggest year for original programming in the history of our company, and we are literally over the moon that it will now include the first two series in an expanding Anne Rice universe built around stories and characters that have captivated millions of fans around the world,” said Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks. “We are also extremely fortunate to have such talented storytellers as Esta and Michelle guiding this adaptation, which will follow the first season of ‘Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire’ late next year.”

“With the cornucopia of rich characters, worlds, and stories that Anne Rice has given millions upon millions of readers around the world, AMC now has the privilege of creating a multitude of fascinating, entertaining, and very distinct television series,” Johnson added. “My good fortune as an executive producer of ‘Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire’ has now been more than doubled with what Esta Spalding and Michelle Ashford are imagining with The Mayfair Witches. While both shows couldn’t be more different, they nevertheless find themselves bound under the same bewitching and engaging umbrella.”

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