Sundance Now and Shudder have acquired A Discovery of Witches, the Sky original drama based on Deborah Harkness’ best-selling novel. The eight-episode series starring Teresa Palmer and Matthew Goode will stream on both services, but no premiere date was announced.
Produced by Bad Wolf (The Night Of, the upcoming His Dark Materials), A Discovery of Witches is a contemporary love story that begins against the backdrop of Oxford academic life, in a world where small numbers of witches, vampires and daemons live and work, unseen amongst humans, hiding in plain sight. Brilliant historian Diana Bishop (Palmer) is a reluctant witch denying her heritage when the discovery of a bewitched manuscript in Oxford’s Bodleian Library throws her into the heart of a dangerous mystery – and into the path of the enigmatic vampire and geneticist, Matthew Clairmont (Goode), who hides a dark family secret.
Alex Kingston plays Sarah Bishop – Diana’s aunt, Valarie Pettiford plays her partner Emily Mather, and Owen Teale plays Peter Knox, a member of the Congregation.
The acquisition marks the first partnership of this kind for the two Sundance Now, AMC Networks’ direct-to-consumer SVOD service, and Shudder, a premium streaming service for thriller, suspense and horror. SundanceTV has also acquired second window linear rights to the series.
“This captivating story is filled with intrigue, romance and magic and set in spectacular locations that underscore those very qualities,” said Jan Diedrichsen, General Manager of Sundance Now. “We know that A Discovery of Witches will appeal to both the premium drama fans at Sundance Now and the genre fans at Shudder.”
