'A Discovery of Witches' Magics Up a U.S. Premiere Date

The highly anticipated television adaptation of Deborah Harkness’ A Discovery of Witches is coming to America, and sooner than you might think.

The fantasy drama, which is currently airing in the U.K., will be available to stream in full on both Sundance Now and Shudder beginning January 17, 2019.

This partnership is the first between Sundance Now, the SVOD service associated with AMC Networks’ Sundance Channel, and Shudder, a premium streaming service generally known for its focus on horror and thrillers. (I mean, I’m not sure I’d consider this story horror, per se, but I guess it has vampires and stuff, so sure?)

When the exclusive streaming window concludes, the fantasy drama will likely air on cable network Sundance, as it currently holds second window rights to the series. (Basically what this means is, if you don’t have access Shudder or Sundance Now, you’ll be waiting a bit longer for the show to come to terrestrial television.)

Based on Harkness’ bestselling All Souls Trilogy, A Discovery of Witches follows the story of an Oxford professor – who’s also a vampire – and a student, who happens to be a witch descended from the women of Salem. The two find themselves involved in a forbidden love and trapped on the cusp of interspecies magical war.

Also there’s a magical book that everyone’s fighting over. Good times!

Downton Abbey alum Matthew Goode and Hacksaw Ridge actress Teresa Palmer portray the leads in  our supernatural star-crossed vampire/witch romance, and they’ll be joined by a bevy of other familiar faces. These include Doctor Who star Alex Kingston, The Blacklist’s Valarie Pettiford, Sherlock’s Lindsay Duncan, Game of Thrones’ Owen Teale and more.

Watch the trailer for yourselves below:

Are you a fan of Harkness’ trilogy? Are you looking forward to A Discovery of Witches? Should I be reading these books? Let’s discuss in the comments.