NYCC 2018: A Discovery of Witches

With the airdate coming nearer and nearer, it was an absolute delight to preview the first episode of the new television adaptation of Deborah Harkness’s bestselling book, A Discovery of Witches, during New York Comic Con after hearing about it with the cast at San Diego Comic Con a few months ago.

The first episode is sure to capture new fans who haven’t read the book, mostly thanks to the fantastic chemistry between Matthew Goode (playing Matthew) and Theresa Palmer (playing Diana). For fans of the book, it’s a treat to see Oxford filled with characters we know and love (and ones we hate, too).

After the episode sneak peek, author Deborah Harkness took the stage to chat about the adaptation. Here are some of the juiciest and most interesting tidbits we learned about A Discovery of Witches:

Casting/Cast

• Since these roles delve into the supernatural and push the bounds of what it means to be human, it was very important to find actors that would take that seriously.
• It was a complicated search, but from the first time Harkness saw Matthew read, he was it! Then, when Theresa joined with him in a chemistry test “it was clear they couldn’t be played by anyone else.”
• “What Theresa and Matthew were able to get so brilliantly is get the complexity.” Because Matthew is a very. very old vampire, to him, feminism just happened in the blink of an eye. Diana very much has a mind of her own, and she’s not afraid to express herself. The tension between people from two very different worlds who accept who they really are are at the heart of this story.

Book versus TV

• There will be plot changes! But, they stick to the spirit of the books and are faithful to the characters.
• Because the books are from Diana’s view, we’re limited to her viewpoint. With the television show, they’re able to see all the other characters’ stories. So, we’ll “get an ensemble story.” .

What Deborah Harkness is Excited for

• Wonderful moments of big pieces of magic seen on the screen. Think: witch wind, witch fire, and witch water!

Other sound bites

• Harkness on the theme of power and the power struggle many of the characters are enmeshed in: “Historically, I study issues of gender and power and one thing I know for sure is seizing your own power is never an easy proposition.”
• Harkness on a future cameo: “I would be really interested in playing a plump wealthy Elizabethan shopper.”

Check out the trailer for A Discovery of Witches, and mark your calendars for 2019!