Since acquiring the rights to the late Anne Rice’s catalog of gothic horror literature in 2020, AMC has been hard at work in developing what they’ve dubbed the “Immortal Universe” — an interconnected franchise based on Rice’s works and characters that spans across several TV shows. The first, Interview with the Vampire, premiered in 2022, and has since gone on to receive massive critical and audience acclaim across its two seasons; 2023’s Mayfair Witches, which built the on-screen world out further, tells the story of the titular, magic-wielding family and the demon linked to them throughout the centuries. There’s even more Immortal Universe set to premiere sometime this year, now that AMC has greenlit a series about the Talamasca, the mysterious organization tasked with overseeing all things supernatural (and intervening when necessary). However, while Interview with the Vampire set a high bar from the beginning with its tumultuous, complex depiction of the eternal beings at its center, Mayfair Witches has struggled to reach the same level as its predecessor. Season 2, which returns to follow Rowan Mayfair (Alexandra Daddario) as she attempts to further come into her power, is at its best when it embraces its horror elements as well as its links to the greater Immortal Universe, but its strongest pieces don’t successfully forge into something consistently bewitching.
What Is ‘Mayfair Witches’ Season 2 About?

On the heels of having given birth to the demon spirit Lasher (Jack Huston), allowing him to take human shape in the world, Rowan is immediately plunged into a crisis of conscience about her powers when we first catch up with her at the beginning of Season 2. Her complicated connection to Lasher as both his lover and now-mother imbues her with abilities the likes of which she’s never had before, allowing her to achieve seemingly impossible feats — like healing someone from what would otherwise be a terminal illness. But this new strength has limits; the more physically distanced Rowan is from Lasher (specifically, his blood), the quicker her magic runs out. There’s also the fact that Lasher is no ordinary human child, downing milk by the gallon and growing at a rapidly accelerated rate. In a matter of days, he ages from infant to toddler to teenager, with limited memories of his past existence and absolutely no impulse control to speak of.
If the situation wasn’t already complicated, Rowan has distanced herself from anyone who could possibly serve as an ally in her time of need. Any trust between her and Ciprien Grieve (Tongayi Chirisa) has been shattered, particularly now that Sip is attempting to juggle his own duties to the Talamasca with his lingering feelings for Rowan; as for Cortland (Harry Hamlin), he’s still a frozen statue hanging out in the basement of the Mayfair house, but relying on him and what he knows about Lasher is an absolute last resort. Meanwhile, another powerful member of the family has just arrived in New Orleans, looking for answers about what happened to her sister Tessa (Madison Wolfe) last season; Moira (Alyssa Jirrels) has her own bone to pick with Lasher regarding his involvement with the Mayfairs, as well as the unsettling ability to read minds, and although she and Rowan initially butt heads, their shared desire to protect their family may very well allow them to set aside their grievances and work together. But as Lasher grows in age and in strength, and certain Mayfair women start to pay the price, Rowan has to decide whether her newfound power is worth the cost of other lives.

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“As the story goes on and the villains amass, she has to use the darker powers that she’s been given.”

‘Mayfair Witches’ Season 2 Is Best When It Embraces True Horror

Image via AMC

While Season 1 could undeniably be categorized as Gothic horror — the Mayfair house, with its crumbling walls, flickering lights, and strange events, was the biggest piece of evidence for that influence — Season 2 expands the scope of its scares just in time for the setting to similarly broaden, and the show is at its best when it doesn’t shy away from its most unsettling visuals. In one scene, Rowan wakes up in the middle of the night to find a young Lasher standing over her, ripping out his baby teeth and giggling before smiling a messy, bloody smile; in another, a character hallucinates themselves cutting off their own arm before serving that severed limb up on a plate to be eaten by another. These unflinchingly visceral moments are too few and far in between over the course of the seven episodes provided for review, and Season 2 misses a few opportunities to cross into some seriously terrifying territory. The relationship between Rowan and Lasher should be a thorny, uncomfortable path to tread all on its own, now that she’s literally birthed the physical incarnation of her demon lover, but the show paints them as much closer to an ill-fated romance than a destructive, manipulative duo who latch onto each other for primarily selfish reasons, and Daddario and Huston’s chemistry can’t sustain that framing.
While the show does do a welcome job of exploring more of the darkness that was somewhat lacking in the first season, and the biggest and most engrossing events play out within the Mayfair family itself rather than coming from external forces, many members of the supporting ensemble suffer in the process. Jojo Mayfair (Jen Richards), now confirmed as Rowan’s half-sister in the wake of disturbing revelations about Deirdre (Annabeth Gish) and Cortland’s relationship, is seriously overdue for a deeper storyline, not just through developing her ties to Rowan, but also a bigger conversation with Cortland about her identity. Yet the show frustratingly shuffles Jojo off to the sidelines via a recycled plot device — one that was done better in Season 1, no less — and effectively ensures she doesn’t have any part to play in the episodes that follow.
Outside of Rowan and Moira, the rest of the Mayfair women aren’t fleshed out nearly as well as they could be. While it’s always a pleasure to watch Charlayne Woodard in any project, Dolly Jean seems to only exist to issue sage advice or deliver stern looks as the situation requires. Thora Birch, who joins the show this season as the reclusive tarot reader Gifford Mayfair, is disappointingly wasted in an all-too-brief role. Rowan’s ex-flame, Sam Larkin (Ben Feldman), later arrives on the scene to help with some convenient genetic testing, but the show’s attempts to infuse their connection with any real significance fall flat when there are so many other storylines and characters to juggle. However, another new addition to the cast, Ted Levine, undeniably does for Mayfair Witches what Ben Daniels’ Santiago did for Interview with the Vampire’s follow-up season. As Julien Mayfair, Cortland’s father, Levine plays every single one of his scenes with compellingly diabolical intent, haunting his living descendants through methods they can’t fully escape from.
‘Mayfair Witches’ Season 2 Intriguingly Expands the Immortal Universe

Apart from its all-too-infrequent thrills, Mayfair Witches Season 2 does drop some intriguing breadcrumbs as far as its ties to the greater Immortal Universe are concerned. With the show still mostly set in New Orleans, the odds of bumping into familiar faces are high, and there’s at least one cameo that may have viewers pausing to recall where they’ve seen that character before. But Season 2 also delves into the Talamasca in ways that do lead to curiosity about how the upcoming spin-off will be handled — and how they’ve been faring in the wake of a certain book’s publication. Mostly, we’re privy to their shady activities through Sip’s eyes, as he is forced to reconsider that the secretive order that plucked him up as a child may have had more self-serving reasons for doing so while also attempting to leverage himself into a higher position of authority. It’s a storyline that takes somewhat of a backseat to the bigger Mayfair family drama that unspools throughout the season, but it gives Sip and his powers more of a purpose and leads to the question of whether he might be more of a connective tissue to the other Immortal Universe shows than we previously suspected.
Much like its lead character, Mayfair Witches has yet to reach its full potential, but is definitely displaying a bigger glimmer of promise in Season 2. With stronger performances — particularly from Daddario, Hamlin, and Levine — as well as a willingness to indulge in even more horror and an expansion of environment beyond the familiar backdrop of New Orleans, the show capably delivers on magic, drama, and scares, the likes of which only become more interesting as the story grows more twisted and tangled. Mayfair Witches still has some adjustments to make in order to become the most powerful version of itself, but Season 2 is a much stronger chapter in the Immortal Universe this time around than a mere footnote.
Mayfair Witches Season 2 premieres January 5 on AMC in the U.S., with new episodes airing Sundays.

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Mayfair Witches Season 2 is at its best when it embraces horror as well as its bigger ties to the Immortal Universe, but struggles at being consistently bewitching.

Pros

The moments of horror we do get pack a visceral, unsettling punch.
Ted Levine is a compelling addition to the Season 2 cast as Julien Mayfair.
Season 2 intriguingly builds out the world of the Immortal Universe, specifically the Talamasca.

Cons

Outside of Rowan and Moira, other Mayfair women like Jojo, Dolly Jean, and Gifford are unfortunately sidelined.
Season 2 shies away from the more twisted aspects of Rowan and Lasher’s relationship.

Release Date

January 7, 2023

Creator

Esta Spalding

Cast

Alexandra Daddario
, Tongayi Chirisa
, Jack Huston
, Harry Hamlin
, Hannah Alline
, Beth Grant
, Annabeth Gish
, Ravi Naidu
, Jen Richards
, Ian Hoch
, Geraldine Singer
, Emma Rose Smith
, Charlayne Woodard
, Suleka Mathew
, Deneen Tyler
, Melissa Chambers
, Nadine Lewington
, Jay Howard Thames
, Keyara Milliner
, Dennis Boutsikaris
, Madison Wolfe
, Leslie Castay
, Erica Gimpel
, Tobias Jelinek
, Cameron Inman
, Billy Slaughter
, Jim Gleason
, Robert Aberdeen
, Joshua Mikel
, Jessie Terrebonne
, Chris Coy

Main Genre

Drama

Franchise

Immortal Universe

Cinematographer

Joseph E. Gallagher, Evans Brown

Creator(s)

Esta Spalding
, Michelle Ashford

Distributor

AMC+

Producer

Esta Spalding

Production Company

AMC Studios, Gran Via Productions

Sfx Supervisor

Matt Kutcher

Story By

Anne Rice

Writers

Michelle Ashford
, Esta Spalding

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Watch on AMC+