Oct. 28 (UPI) — It would appear someone cast a spell on Hollywood, what with all the magical new films and TV shows about witches it has been conjuring up, sidelining the vampire and zombie entertainment that has dominated our screens in recent years.
Practical Magic 2, the sequel to the 1998 cult-classic movie starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, is now available on video-on-demand platforms after playing in theaters last month.
Based on the book series by Alice Hoffman, the films follow the Owens sisters, contemporary witches still trying to escape a centuries-old curse that keeps the women in their family from finding true love.
The new movie brings back Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest from the original film and introduces Joey King and Maisie Williams as the daughters of Sally Owens (Bullock). Lee Pace and Xolo Mariduena co-star.
American Horror Story: 13, now streaming on FX and Hulu, features the return of numerous characters from previous seasons of the anthology series, largely focusing on the group of contemporary New Orleans sorceresses from Season 3, which was subtitled Coven.
The latest chapter reveals that Satan (Paul Anthony Kelly) bet God that if he could remain alive in a human body for 100 years, he would gain dominion over Heaven, Hell and Earth.
But the devil’s son Ben (Joey Pollari) throws him a curve-ball by going to the witches — played by Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Emma Roberts, Gabourey Sidibe, Leslie Grossman and Billie Lourd — and telling them he wants to help vanquish his father.
The season also stars Angela Bassett, Evan Peters, Kathy Bates, Frances Conroy, Orlando Jones and Elle Chapman.
Season 1 of Coven Academy is now streaming on Freeform, Disney+ and Hulu, and the show is proving so popular it wasjust renewed for a second season.
Also set in modern-day New Orleans, the show follows a trio of teen witches studying magic at an elite boarding school.
The cast includes Malina Pauli Weissman, Malachi Barton, Jordan Leftwich, Ora Duplass, Louis Thresher, Tiffani Thiessen and Devon Sawa.
It was created by Tim Federle, whose credits include High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and the upcoming Romy and Michelesequel.
AMC+’s Yaga series is an adaptation of Kat Sandler’s stage play, which re-imagines the myth of the Baba Yaga, an entity from Slavic folklore often depicted as a witch.
Sandler serves as writer, show-runner and executive producer on the mystery thriller, which follows Rapp (Noah Reid), a private investigator investigating the disappearance of Henry Park (Hudson Williams), the young heir to a powerful fishery in the small Canadian coastal town of Whittock.
Carrie-Anne Moss plays Katherine, a charismatic university professor with a taste for younger men.
The ensemble also includes Sheila McCarthy, Megan Follows, Ezra Franky, Patrick Gilmore, Katharine Isabelle and Hiro Kanagawa.
AMC is also the home of Mayfair Witches, which is based on the late Anne Rice’s best-selling novels. It follows neurosurgeon Dr. Rowan Fielding (Alexandra Daddario) as she discovers she is descended from a powerful dynasty of witches.
The show co-stars Tongayi Chirisa, Harry Hamlin, Jack Huston, Betsy Brandt, Ben Feldman and James Frain.
Season 3, which is subtitled Salem Coven, is set to premiere on Dec. 30.
It is part of a larger universe that also includes Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat and Talamasca.
The Marvel miniseries VisionQuest —starring Paul Bettany as Vision and James Spader as Ultron —recently premiered on Disney+
The show is part of a shared universe that includes the witch-themed series, WandaVision and Agatha All Along.
The third chapter in the series follows Vision, an AI creation who has been living as a human and trying to re-connect with memories he had lost and restored after he was killed in Avengers: Infinity War.
Ruaridh Mollica plays Tommy, a teen who shows up and might be the reincarnation of the son Vision had with Wanda/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), who used magic to manipulate reality into a happy home life for her, Vision and their two sons.
Disney will also release the animated adventure, Hexed, in theaters Nov. 25.
“An impulsive and unconventional teenage girl named Billie Doe (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld) discovers secret magical abilities which, once unleashed, hurtle her out of suburbia and into a spectacle-filled journey through a vast witch realm called Hexe,” the studio said in a synopsis.
“Forced to team up with her cautious mother, Alice (voiced by Rashida Jones), they uncover family mysteries that could change the world of witches forever.”
The film features the voice talents of Walton Goggins as a magical, three-eyed cat, and Jodie Foster as the sinister Queen Celeste, as well.
