Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witchesreturns to AMC in January 2025 after its highly successful introduction to theImmortal Universefranchise (which includes the extremely popularInterview with the Vampire) in 2023. Based on theLives of the Mayfair Witchesnovel trilogy by celebrated author Anne Rice, the show stars Alexandra Daddario as Rowan Fielding, a talented neurosurgeon whose mysterious power over life and death comes from her lineage as a witch. She returns home to New Orleans to investigate her past, where she meets family members like Cortland Mayfair (Harry Hamlin) and a powerful spirit named Lasher (Jack Huston) who has been tied to her family for generations.
Season 2 is based on the second book in the series,Lasher, and follows directly after the events of theMayfair Witchesseason 1 finale. Despite Talamasca agent Ciprien Grieve (Tongayi Chirisa) trying to stop her, Rowan has given birth to Lasher in human form and hopes to use his powers for herself. Unfortunately, he is growing at an abnormally fast rate and soon begins killing Mayfair women (not to mention other innocent bystanders), creating a moral quandary for Rowan. To make matters worse, estranged Mayfair cousin Moira (Alyssa Jirrels) has come to town with the express purpose of understanding her sister Tessa’s death.
AMC’s Immortal Universe Creatives Tease Upcoming Crossovers In The Talamasca & Mayfair Witches Season 2
AMC’s Immortal Universe creatives Mark Johnson and Esta Spalding tease upcoming crossovers in The Talamasca and Mayfair Witches at New York Comic Con.
ScreenRantinvited the stars ofMayfair Witchesseason 2and showrunner Esta Spalding to our NYCC 2024 media suite, where the team teases the twists and turns ofAnne Rice’s Immortal Universe. While the AMC show is far removed from the novels in many aspects, Spalding insisted that several season 2 arcs are clinging to the spirit of the second book. Jirrels and Chirisa teased Moira’s arrival and Ciprian’s potential connection to her, while Hamlin hinted at upcoming scenes between Cortland and his deceased father Julian.
Mayfair Witches Season 2 Is All About Power And Temptation For Rowman – And Everyone Else
“The second season is about the question of what she will become and how much she will lean into using that darkness.”
Screen Rant: Esta, Rowan wants to do good and save people, but it seems that equally powerful forces are driving her to protect Lasher no matter how much good he’s not doing. Can you break down that struggle for us?
Esta Spalding: Yeah, I think Rowan really leaned in at the end of season 1 to being a witch; to recognizing, “I can have these powers, and I want them.” She literally took them in the form of this baby, and she has all of those powers now, and the powers are fantastic as a doctor. She wants the power to heal, but there are also very dark and destructive powers, and she’s extremely tempted by those too. I mean, we saw her kill in the first season — and she killed vindictively and a little joyously.
The second season is about the question of what she will become and how much she will lean into using that darkness. And with the tagline, “Embrace the darkness,” I think you get where we’re going.
Screen Rant: Alyssa, welcome to the Mayfair family. How does it feel to be the only member who actually seems to be sane and recognizes that Tessa should be alive?
Alyssa Jirrels: You know what? This has been my perspective. I appreciate you validating it.
It’s great. I think that this is a wacky bunch, man, and there’s got to be somebody who’s kind of setting them straight. Yeah, she’s been very hurt. She’s experienced a great loss, and she’s not going to let that go unfairly. She’s a very powerful witch and is finally somebody who can rival Rowan in that way.
Screen Rant: Tongayi, the Talamasca has tasked your character with a new mission this season. Can you share how that might conflict or correlate with his original purpose of saving Rowan?
Tongayi Chirisa: I think the mandate is still the same. Get the baby, get Lasher away from Rowan, and bring him to the headquarters. That doesn’t change for Sip, even though the circumstances around that have now gone belly up. He doesn’t know who to trust. He doesn’t know if the Talamasca really want him for what he’s able to bring to the table, or if he’s just being a pawn to a greater mission.
With all of that, you find Sip going on this independent journey for the first time and trying to find his footing in the world. How he can actually contribute and finish this task without compromising himself?
Screen Rant: Harry, the last time we saw your character, he was turned to stone. Can you tease anything going on inside Cortland’s mind this season?
Harry Hamlin: Well, he’s stoned. He’s stoned. Thank you for that, by the way. Was that maybe an homage to Clash of the Titans? It’s possible. Because my character in that movie did turn lots of things to stone.
Fortunately, I come out of that. I do get out in the first episode. There’s not a lot of Cortland, but he does make several appearances thereafter, which could be surprising.
Lasher’s History & Future Permeate Mayfair Witches Season 2, Along With Julian’s Story
“We are able [to] have Lasher tell his story and finally understand himself.”
Screen Rant: Esta, season 2’s focus shifts to chronicling Lasher as a human, but Rowan is still our way into this world. How is the season balancing both of those perspectives?
Esta Spalding:It’s very deliciously Anne Rice. Rowan has given birth to her former demon lover and given him a body, and they are linked in this way. They’re enmeshed through the powers. When he’s near, she has the power, and when he’s not, she doesn’t. So, she wants him around — but of course, he’s experiencing a body for the first time, and that makes him tempted in all kinds of ways. He starts to be out of control, he starts to be violent, and bodies start to drop.
I’m not giving too much away; this is all in the books. And so Rowan’s got to try to control Lasher. At the same time, she doesn’t want to extinguish the power that she has from Lasher, so she can’t really destroy him. She’s tempted too, in some ways, and then of course she wants that power. The balance between the two of them is really, really, really fun. They’re kind of bound to each other in a way that makes the plot exciting,
Screen Rant: Alyssa, Moira can read minds, which is a blessing and a curse. How does that affect her relationship with her family, not to mention the outside world?
Alyssa Jirrels: That’s such a great question. I think, on the one hand, it is a very challenging thing to constantly be able to know what other people are thinking. She knows all of the nefarious, dark thoughts of the people around her. So, I would imagine that would kind of make you — as Esta put it when we first started talking about it — the bullshit caller. She knows exactly what everybody’s thinking at all times.
Yeah, I think it makes her a bit of a black sheep because if there’s a way that everybody is operating, she is doing the opposite. It’s a challenge, but it also gives you an advantage.
Screen Rant: Can Sip connect with Moira, given their similar power sets and the drawbacks that come with it? Might that lead to exploring more of his backstory this season?
Tongayi Chirisa: Oh, you’re all so slick with these questions. I think, yeah, there’s some sort of connection. That’s all I’m going to say to that. You’ll see that as the episodes come in.
Screen Rant: Esta, season 1 gave us Suzanne’s backstory as a way to introduce the Mayfair lineage. Will season 2 have other witches in flashbacks?
Esta Spalding: Well, Book Two has two really important sections. One is Julian’s story, which he tells, and we really wanted to honor that. So, Julian is a character in this season, and Cortland has a deep relationship with his father who trained him to be the man he is, for better or worse. There’s a lot about Cortland that comes out through that experience with Julian.
And then the other section in the book that I really wanted to use was Lasher’s story of his path in life before Suzanne. We go into that, and it’s very deep into the season, but we are able to tell that story in flashbacks and have Lasher tell his story and finally understand himself. Those are the two pieces that are a little bit like Suzanne this season.
Screen Rant: Interesting. Harry, Cortland could be considered the keeper of the Mayfair history, and Rowan does go to him for answers at times. How much can she and the audience trust him at this point?
Harry Hamlin: How much can Rowan trust Cortland, who is now her father? As we know, I don’t think Courtland is very trustworthy, at least from what we saw in season 1. Sure, he might have a come to Jesus moment in season 2, or he might not.
But on the other hand, you have to tune into the second season to see what happens. As Esta was saying, I meet my father in season 2. That’s all I’m going to say about that.
More About Mayfair Witches Season 2
Based on Anne Rice’s Lives of the Mayfair Witches, season two of Mayfair Witches continues the journey of Rowan Mayfair (Alexandra Daddario) after she has unwittingly given birth to the demon Lasher (Jack Huston). She is determined to understand what he has become – human or monster? – and to use him to fulfill her purpose as a healer, but when tragedy strikes, she must put aside her own desires and fight to protect her family.
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Mayfair Witchesseason 2 premieres Jun 12, 2025 on AMC and AMC+.
Mayfair Witches
Cast
Mayfair Witches follows a young neurosurgeon who discovers her unexpected lineage as the heir to a powerful family of witches. As she navigates her emerging magical abilities, she confronts a dark force that has plagued her family through the generations. Created by Esta Spalding and Michelle Ashford.
