Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale

Last updated

Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale
Sanctuary - A Witch's Tale.jpg
Genre
Created by Debbie Horsfield
Based onSanctuary: A Novel of Suspense, Witchcraft, and Small Town Secrets
by V.V. James
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
  • V.V. James
  • Debbie Horsfield
  • Debra Hayward
  • Alison Owen
  • Alison Carpenter
  • Karen Richards
  • Guymon Casady
Production companies AMC Studios
Monumental Television
Original release
Network AMC+
Sundance Now
ReleaseJanuary 4, 2024 (2024-01-04) 
present

Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale is an American supernatural drama television series written and created by Debbie Horsfield based on the 2020 novel Sanctuary: A Novel of Suspense, Witchcraft, and Small Town Secrets by V.V. James. The seven-part series premiered on January 4, 2024.

Contents

Synopsis

In the fictional small English town of Sanctuary, witches have lived in the open for centuries as accepted and sacred members of the community. Sarah Fenn is a witch whom the townspeople rely on for remedies when other methods have failed. When Dan Whithall, a local teen, a rugby captain, and a bully is accidentally pushed to death at a party, his mother Abigail, out of her grief and convictions begin a modern witch hunt against Sarah believing her son to be a saint and Sarah's daughter, Harper whom Dan betrayed and abused for fun is the cause of her beloved son's death.

Cast

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date [1]
1"Episode 1"Lisa MulcahyV.V. James and Debbie Horsfield January 4, 2024 (2024-01-04)
When a teen sports star dies, the community of Sanctuary is shattered. DCI Knight expects a straightforward investigation but the response of Harper, daughter of a local witch, leads her to suspect there's more to his death than meets the eye.
2"Episode 2"Lisa MulcahyV.V. James and Debbie Horsfield January 4, 2024 (2024-01-04)
Sarah strives to prove daughter Harper's innocence against charges of witchcraft in Puritan New England, but their accuser Abigail blackmails them.
3"Episode 3"Lisa MulcahyV.V. James and Debbie Horsfield January 11, 2024 (2024-01-11)
Magic confirmed at crime scene. Harper's revelation to Sarah risks making her a suspect if told to police. Harper's accusation spurs Abigail to seek revenge.
4"Episode 4"Justin MolotnikovV.V. James, Jessica Ruston, and Debbie Horsfield January 18, 2024 (2024-01-18)
Harper accuses Daniel of rape. Suspicion falls on Harper and Sarah. A vigil for Daniel stirs anger in Sanctuary. Abandoned by The Moot, Sarah despairs. Harper is targeted at school.
5"Episode 5"Justin MolotnikovV.V. James, Gabbie Asher, and Debbie Horsfield January 25, 2024 (2024-01-25)
6"Episode 6"Justin MolotnikovV.V.James and Debbie Horsfield February 1, 2024 (2024-02-01)
7"Episode 7"TBATBAFebruary 8, 2024 (2024-02-08)

Production

Development

In August 2022, Sundance Now announced it had commissioned a new series Sanctuary based on the novel of the same name by V.V. James, who will also serve as an executive producer alongside Debra Hayward, Alison Owen, Alison Carpenter, Karen Richards, Debbie Horsfield, and Guymon Casady. Horsfield will also be serving as a writer on the series alongside Jess Ruston and Gabbie Asher. The series is directed by Lisa Mulcahy and Justin Molotnikov. Sanctuary will be an AMC production in partnership with Monumental Television. [2] [3]

Casting

In August 2022 the cast was announced to include Elaine Cassidy, Hazel Doupe, Stephanie Levi-John, Amy De Bhrún, Abigail Whitehall. [4] Further cast members were announced in October and December 2023 including Valerie O'Connor, Kelly Campbell, Stephen Lord, Darragh Gilhooly, Adam Isla O’Brien, Elish Liburd, Barry John Kinsella, and Sophie Mensah. [5] [6]

Release

Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale debuted with a two-episode premiere on January 4, 2024, exclusively on Sundance Now and AMC+, with new episodes airing weekly. [5]

Related Research Articles

Abigail Williams was an 11- or 12-year-old girl who, along with nine-year-old Betty Parris, was among the first of the children to falsely accuse their neighbors of witchcraft in 1692; these accusations eventually led to the Salem witch trials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elisabeth Moss</span> American actress (born 1982)

Elisabeth Singleton Moss is a British-American actor and producer. She is known for her work in several television dramas, garnering many accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards, which led Vulture to name her the "Queen of Peak TV".

<i>Bill Moyers Journal</i> American current affairs television series (1972–76; 1979–81; 2007–10)

Bill Moyers Journal was an American television current affairs program that covered an array of current affairs and human issues, including economics, history, literature, religion, philosophy, science, and most frequently politics. Bill Moyers executive produced, wrote and hosted the Journal when it was created. WNET in New York produced it and PBS aired it from 1972 to 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abigail Spencer</span> American actress (born 1981)

Abigail Leigh Spencer is an American actress. She began her career playing Rebecca Tyree on the ABC daytime television soap opera All My Children (1999–2001) before going on to star in the Lifetime crime drama series, Angela's Eyes (2006). She also had recurring roles on Mad Men (2009), Hawthorne (2009–2011), Suits (2011–2019), and Grey's Anatomy (2017–2022). From 2013 to 2016, Spencer starred as Amantha Holden in the SundanceTV drama series Rectify, for which she received a nomination for a Critics' Choice Television Award. From 2016 to 2018, Spencer starred as history professor Lucy Preston in the NBC science-fiction series Timeless. Spencer has appeared in numerous films, such as In My Sleep (2010), Cowboys & Aliens (2011), This Means War (2012), Chasing Mavericks (2012), The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia (2013), Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), and This Is Where I Leave You (2014).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Johnson (producer)</span> American producer (born 1945)

Mark Johnson is an American film and television producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture for producing the 1988 film Rain Man.

Debbie Horsfield is an English theatre and television writer and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Yeun</span> American actor (born 1983)

Yeun Sang-yeop, known professionally as Steven Yeun, is an American actor. Yeun initially rose to prominence for playing Glenn Rhee in the television series The Walking Dead (2010–2016). He earned critical acclaim for starring in the thriller Burning (2018) and drama Minari (2020). The latter earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor, becoming the first Asian American actor to do so. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2021. In 2023, he starred in the dark comedy series Beef (2023), for which he won two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award.

The Walking Dead is an American zombie apocalypse media franchise centered on a number of television series based on the comic book of the same name. Set in one fictional shared universe, the franchise has developed into six live-action television series, with two additional series in development. The franchise also includes eight web series that tie into the first two television series. The series all air on AMC and AMC+.

<i>The Witch</i> (2015 film) Film by Robert Eggers

The Witch is a 2015 folk horror film written and directed by Robert Eggers in his feature directorial debut. It stars Anya Taylor-Joy in her film debut, alongside Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger, and Lucas Dawson. Set in 1630s New England, its plot follows a Puritan family who encounter forces of evil in the woods beyond their farm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melanie Liburd</span> British actress

Melanie Liburd is a British actress known for her roles in This Is Us and Power Book II: Ghost.

<i>A Discovery of Witches</i> (TV series) 2018 British fantasy television series

A Discovery of Witches is a British fantasy television series based on the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness, named after the first book in the trilogy. Produced by Bad Wolf and Sky Studios, it stars Teresa Palmer and Matthew Goode as a witch and a vampire who must learn about and fend off magical creatures. Edward Bluemel, Louise Brealey, Malin Buska, Aiysha Hart, Owen Teale, Alex Kingston, and Valarie Pettiford are also featured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AMC+</span> American subscription video streaming service

AMC+ is an American subscription video on demand streaming service owned by AMC Networks that was launched on June 11, 2020. The service is a premium bundle that includes the live feeds and program libraries of the company's television networks and streaming brands along with its own exclusive content.

<i>Interview with the Vampire</i> (TV series) 2022 American gothic horror television series

Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, or simply Interview with the Vampire, is an American gothic horror television series created by Rolin Jones for AMC, based on the 1976 novel of the same name and elements from The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. The series begins with the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac recounting his past life and tumultuous relationship with his maker and lover, Lestat de Lioncourt. The series embraces the queer elements of Rice's work, which are only insinuated in the 1994 film adaptation of the novel, and deals with themes such as race and abuse. It is the first series set in the Immortal Universe, a shared universe based on Rice's novels.

<i>Kin</i> (Irish TV series) Crime drama on Irish TV

Kin is an Irish television crime drama series, co-created by Peter McKenna and Ciaran Donnelly, that first broadcast on 9 September 2021, on RTÉ. The series, which revolves around a fictional Dublin family embroiled in gangland war, stars Aidan Gillen and Ciarán Hinds as rival gang leaders, Frank Kinsella and Eamon Cunningham.

<i>Tales of the Walking Dead</i> American horror drama television series

Tales of the Walking Dead is an American post-apocalyptic horror drama anthology television series created by Scott M. Gimple and Channing Powell. The fourth television series within The Walking Dead franchise, it is a spin-off to The Walking Dead, which is based on the comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard.

<i>Mayfair Witches</i> 2023 American drama television series

Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches, or simply Mayfair Witches, is an American supernatural thriller drama television series created by Esta Spalding and Michelle Ashford, based on the novel trilogy Lives of the Mayfair Witches by Anne Rice. The series stars Alexandra Daddario as Rowan Fielding, Harry Hamlin as Cortland Mayfair, Tongayi Chirisa as Ciprien Grieve, and Jack Huston as Lasher.

Totally Completely Fine is an Australian streaming television dark comedy series produced by Stan in association with SundanceNow. It stars Thomasin McKenzie as Vivian Cunningham, a twenty-something who inherits her grandfather's home which is a popular suicide jumping spot. The series premiered on both platforms on 20 April 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abigail Larson</span> American illustrator

Abigail Larson is an American illustrator. She creates mixed media original artwork in the dark fantasy genre, and has illustrated for several major publishing and production companies. She won the Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist in 2016.

References

  1. "Shows A-Z – Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale on Sundance Now". The Futon Critic . Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  2. Petski, Denise (10 August 2022). "AMC Networks' Sundance Now Expands 2023 Slate With Two New Series". Deadline . Archived from the original on 2 January 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  3. Bolton, Cameron (15 August 2022). "Sundance Now Orders Two More Originals, Including One With Thomasin McKenzie". Movieweb.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  4. Bell, BreAnna (10 August 2022). "Sundance Now Orders Two More Originals, Including Thomasin McKenzie-Led 'Totally, Completely Fine'". Variety . Archived from the original on 2 January 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  5. 1 2 SHRISHTY (31 October 2023). "'Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale' Unveils Enchanting First Images & Release Date". Collider. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  6. Kaiya, Shunyata (7 December 2023). "Tragedy Strikes in AMC+'s First Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale Trailer". Paste . Archived from the original on 2 January 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2023.