AMC recently opened a writer’s room for a possible adaptation of the Lives of the Mayfair Witches novels. According to Deadline and Entertainment Weekly, if the series is greenlit, it will be the second in AMC’s slowly-expanding Anne Rice television universe. AMC announced earlier this year that the studio is producing an adaptation of Interview with the Vampire, set to release in 2022.
Deadline reports that Esta Spalding and Michelle Ashford will write and executive produce Mayfair Witches. If the show becomes greenlit, Spalding will also serve as a showrunner. The article adds that last year, AMC Networks obtained the rights to Rice’s works, totaling eighteen titles. Producer Mark Johnson, as part of his deal with AMC Studios, will helm the process of developing Rice’s books for television.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lives of the Mayfair Witches is centered around a keen neurosurgeon who learns she is the heir to a family of witches. Not only must she control her newfound powers, she must also combat the “sinister presence” which has “haunted her family for generations.”
Dan McDermott (president of original programming at AMC Networks and AMC Studios) stated that the companies have “enormous” amounts of ambition for Rice’s iconic stories. He claims, “it is gratifying to be moving so quickly from the Interview greenlight to exploring a second series with such talented and accomplished writers and creators as Esta and Michelle.”
McDermott also insists he and his teams take their responsibilities seriously in regard to adapting Rice’s novels. The aim of the AMC companies is “to deliver compelling television to both existing and new fans of this material.”
Entertainment Weekly adds that Rice and her son Christopher will help executive produce for all adaptations based on Rice’s novels.
Check out this article about the Interview with the Vampire television adaptation!
In the mood for some haunting books? Read my recent piece 7 Devilish Gothic Fantasy Books to Read Year-Round!