“Coven Academy” Cast Shares How Supernatural Series Pushes the Boundaries for New YA Era on Disney+ (Exclusive)

NEED TO KNOW

• Coven Academy marks new territory for Disney+ as it explores the YA genre

• PEOPLE speaks exclusively with the cast and creator about how Coven Academy pulls inspiration from hit shows like Dawson’s Creek and The Vampire Diaries with a new spin

• Coven Academypremieres on Freeform on Thursday, Oct. 1, and Disney+ and Hulu on Friday, Oct. 2

Disney+ is stepping into the supernatural with its new series Coven Academy.

From the mind of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series creator Tim Federle, the series follows a young teenager named Briar (Malina Weissman) who learns she has powers as she enrolls in a magical academy. As the show unravels, new twists are revealed, alliances are made and romances are sparked.

Speaking exclusively with PEOPLE ahead of the show’s premiere on Freeform on Oct. 1, Federle says one of his biggest motivations in creating the series was pushing boundaries, for himself and Disney.

“I grew up watching Charmed and The Craft, [but] it was never something I thought I would write because I was always so drawn to musicals,” Federle explains. “Then I realized in [HSMTMTS], characters start to sing when the emotions get really big. And in Coven Academy, they do magic when their emotions get big. I thought, as long as that’s the metaphor, I think I know how to write that.”

He adds that in some ways, HSMTMTSactually felt more daunting for him as it had “such a legacy” fanbase, whereas with Coven Academy, it’s brand new territory as it marks one of Disney+’s first YA series.

“I think we associate Disney with the very young and then the nostalgic adults,” Federle prefaces. “But I think there is this huge opportunity for the platform. And I was there at the launch of Disney+, very proudly so, but I think there is this huge opportunity in an era, as we’re all seeing, YA programming is very hot right now. I’m very hopeful that Disney+ and Hulu can be a place where people come to watch those shows, too.”

Though Coven Academy is a “brand new story,” Federle points out that he still pulled from nostalgic references throughout, from the grunge ’90s costumes to the literal cast, which includes Casper actor Devon Sawa and Saved by the Bellactress Tiffani Thiessen.

“My influences are driven by a sort of combination of Dawson’s Creek, Harry Potter and The Vampire Diaries,” Federle says of the series. “So this sort of yearning and adolescent messy journey that so many of those Dawson’s Creek characters go through, the magic and wish fulfillment of a boarding school [like Harry Potter] and ultimately the danger and romance and edge of The Vampire Diaries.”

“There’s sort of different audiences and different opportunities here,” he adds of the star-studded cast. “Tiffani and Devon, it is just the pure nostalgia audience. I keep saying girls had Devin’s poster on their wall. Who am I kidding? So did I. So there’s an audience there for parents and for Gen X and millennials.”

In fact, Sawa notes that one of the major reasons he signed on to do the series was his daughter: “[When I got the pitch], I looked over at my 10-year-old daughter and her little eyes [were just so big], it sold me right away. I was like, ‘I absolutely have to do this show because of the wonder in her eyes, the excitement in her eyes.’ I absolutely jumped at the idea of doing something that I really hadn’t done before.”

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As former child stars themselves, Thiessen adds that they certainly looked out for the younger cast members on set.

“I think advice went both ways,” she prefaces. “I think Dev and I took a lot from them and their sort of passion and enthusiasm, as well as us kind of coming in and showing what longevity looks like, right? Yeah. We’re parents now at the same time. So we took it both ways.”

Federle likens some of the newcomers on Coven Academy to rising stars from the HSMTMTS cast.

“Ora [Duplass] and Jordan [Leftwich], who I think are such discoveries and truly gonna be massive, massive stars, reminded me of [HSMTMTS stars] Julia Lester, Frankie Rodriguez, those sort of early sparky talent where I could just feel it in the room,” he says. “I’m certainly not a magician and I’m neither a witch nor a warlock, but I feel confident about my one big magic skill, which is casting.”

“And then Malina and Malachi [Barton] are this perfect mixture,” he continues. “These are two kids who have grown up in the public eye. Malachi practically took his first steps on a set and Malina was a Gap model before she had all her teeth. So they bring such extraordinary experience as talented actors who know the business and know the game and know how to pace themselves, yet there’s this still gigantic world that has not yet discovered them.”

For Barton, who grew up on the set of Disney Channel’s Stuck in the Middle and has recently starred in DCOMs like Zombies 4 and Camp Rock 3, the show was an opportunity to flex his acting skills.

“I was so excited to tap into this new side of acting and get dramatic and have a great time doing it,” Barton says. “Literally, the second I read the script, I was attached and I wanted more scripts.”

He adds that the storylines are “elevated” as they’re told through the YA perspective. “Disney does the young very well, they do the [nostalgia] very well, but they haven’t had a chance to tap into this middle ground that’s so big right now. And I think Coven Academy just fits right there perfectly. It’s gonna allow viewers to be able to age with us and not step away from Disney and then come back later in life. Like, you can hang out and chill with Coven Academy.”

Federle echoes that same sentiment, noting that fans of HSMTMTS will certainly find a lot to love about Coven Academy as they tune in.

“Certainly by the end of [HSMTMTS], we were going to a grittier, more young adult place because the characters were growing up. And that’s where I think this show starts,” he explains.

Coven Academypremieres on Freeform on Thursday, Oct. 1, and Disney+ and Hulu on Friday, Oct. 2.

Read the original article on People