Bad Wolf and Sky Productions have released the first photo from their upcoming adaptation of Deborah Harkness’ best-selling novel trilogy, ‘A Discovery of Witches’. Front and center is Teresa Palmer (‘I Am Number Four’) who portrays main character Diana Bishop. Palmer was one of the first cast members announced, but her two co-stars were among the last. Valarie Pettiford (‘Valor’) plays one of Diana’s aunts, Emily Mather, while Alex Kingston (‘Doctor Who’) plays her other aunt, Sarah Bishop. All three women are witches and they are pictured in a room in their haunted abode.
Here is a description of the series:
Palmer headlines the series as Diana Bishop, a science historian who also just happens to be
a witch with a troubling past that has resulted in her suppressing her magical tendencies.
When her research leads her to uncover a mysterious missing manuscript in Oxford’s Bodleian
Library, she sets in motion a series of events that will lead her on an adventure across time and
continents to discover the secrets of her past and the truth about the origin of magical beings,
which include witches, vampires, and daemons.
The cast also includes Matthew Goode (‘Downton Abbey’) as vampire Matthew Clairmont, Owen Teale as Congregation member Peter Knox, Malin Buska as witch Satu Järvinen, and Julian Kostov as demon Timur. Sophia Myles appears as Rebecca Bishop, the mother of Diana, while David Newman portrays her father, Stephen Proctor. Harkness wrote three novels in her series, and the first season is expected to adapt the first. Logically, that means that there will wind up only being three seasons, but British shows tend to run fewer episodes and seasons than those in the U.S. (Well… I mean, obviously besides ‘Doctor Who’.) But if the show proves popular enough, it’s possible that the producers could extend the show by adding original content.
You can view the first trailer below:
Harkness serves as executive producer along with Kate Brooke, Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter, while Dominic Barlow is the producer. Kate Nettleship is the line producer. Directors include Sarah Walker, Alice Troughton and Juan Carlos Medina.
Production began last fall at Bad Wolf’s new studio in Cardiff, Whales as well as on location in the UK and Europe. The series will debut on the UK based Sky satellite service this fall, but so far there is no U.S. distributor.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
