The supernatural TV series “The Secret Circle” debuted on The CW in 2011, falling squarely into the network’s penchant for teen dramas and YA-inflected soaps. Sadly, it only lasted for one 22-episode season, ending its run in 2012. And like other TV shows that possess as much lore, backstory, and interpersonal relationships as this one, “The Secret Circle” needed to live a lot longer to fulfill its potential.
Based on the series of novels created by L.J. Smith (best known for writing “The Vampire Diaries”), “The Secret Circle” stars Britt Robertson (who also fronted the guilty pleasure that is Netflix’s “Girlboss”) as Cassie, a teenager who recently lost her mother in a fire and has since moved to Chance Harbor, Washington, to live with her grandmother, Jane (Ashley Crow). Cassie doesn’t initially know this, but she’s secretly a witch and has eerie magical powers. However, it doesn’t take long for the other teen witches at her new high school to recognize that Cassie is a witch and invite her to be part of their Secret Circle.
Cassie isn’t just a witch, she learns, her matronly lineage goes all the way back to the beginning of witchcraft. Cassie’s father, it’s revealed, is John Blackwell (Joe Lando), a mysterious dark warlock who lurks in the show’s margins. Other members of the Secret Circle include Adam (Thomas Dekker), Faye (Phoebe Tonkin), Diana (Shelley Hennig), Melissa (Jessica Parker Kennedy), and Nick (Louis Hunter).
True to the soap opera spirit of The CW, there are romantic dealings between the Circle’s members. For example, Nick and Melissa are dating, and Nick eventually has to learn to respect Melissa more. That is, in addition to being killed and resurrected (!). Cassie, meanwhile, instantly falls for Adam, which upsets Diana, who has always had a thing for Adam.
The Secret Circle balanced witch mayhem with teen drama
In addition to the kids in the Circle, Gale Harold plays Charles, Diana’s father and a former Circle member. Elsewhere, Natasha Henstridge from “Species” plays Faye’s mother, another former Circle member, and the principal of the high school where the show’s action takes place.
“The Secret Circle” belongs to a vast and well-populated matrix of teen supernatural dramas that were very much in vogue on television in the 2000s and early 2010s (although L.J. Smith started publishing her “Secret Circle” novels in 1992). Indeed, it’s worth recalling that The CW had already scored a hit when its TV adaptation of “The Vampire Diaries” began its run in 2009, to the point that the network would go on to develop multiple spin-offs (like the since-canceled “Legacies”). Clearly, “The Secret Circle” was an attempt to bottle the same lightning. Vampires, witches, teen drama, magic: It was all boiling together on The CW.
And “The Secret Circle” certainly doesn’t lack conflict. It carefully balances the magic of a witch coven with the drama of being a regular high school student. As such, it features just as many stories about school dances and friend-group inter-flirting as ones about spell books and dark witchy forces that aim to attack the Circle for nefarious purposes. Case in point: The show includes three episodes that center on school dances, and its penultimate episode takes place at Prom. On the witch side of things, several plot lines focus on magic crystals that are coveted by various magical players for a variety of reasons.
The Secret Circle was part of the old CW
Back in 2015, writer Gavin Hetherington penned a post-mortem on “The Secret Circle” for Spoiler TV, revisiting it three years after its cancelation. Hetherington noted that “The Secret Circle” actually began quite strong in the ratings, but it fell off quickly, falling far behind “The Vampire Diaries.” For Hetherington, this was a tragedy, as he declared the show’s finale to be its best episode up to that point, arguing that it only showed more potential going forward. In fact, four new characters arrive in that episode, with all of them being part of Cassie’s witch ancestor’s lineage. Sadly, though, the show ended before audiences could learn their whole story.
When “The Secret Circle” was canceled, its many fans tried to convince The CW to keep it goingampire Diaries” simply left a deeper impact and is generally regarded as one of the best vampire shows of all time. Due to its truncated run, “The Secret Circle” just can’t compete with that series
It probably didn’t help that critics were less impressed with “The Secret Circle” than its loyal fans. Reviewing the series for Variety in 2011, Brian Lowry even described it as “‘One Tree Hill,’ only with witchcraft,” writing that “nothing in the pilot conjures any genuine magic, TV-wise.” Still, it’s a vestige of what the old CW used to be in all its glory.
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Read the original article on SlashFilm.
