The most dreadful time of the year is near. Disney is set to kick off Halloween’s festivities with Coven Academy, the new original supernatural teen drama on Freeform.
Coven Academy dives into the underworld of New Orleans. The series follows Briar, a newly discovered witch, as she attends a school for the supernaturally gifted, where she finds a sisterhood in Tegan and Sasha. Their bond grows through trials and tribulations as a conspiracy ignites an unholy war. Warlock drama and vampire entanglements are nothing compared to the darkness the bewitching trio must face together.
Created by High School Musical: The Musical: The Series‘ Tim Federle, Coven Academy stars Malina Weissman, Jordan Leftwich, and Ora Duplass as Briar, Sasha and Tegan. Additional cast includes Saved By The Bell’s Tiffani Thiessen as Headmistress Graves, and Final Destination’s Devon Sawa as Mr. Cole. They are joined by Malachi Burton as Jake, and Louis Thresher as Ollie.
Competing networks, MTV or the CW, have had their staple dark fantasies over the years, like Teen Wolf and The Vampire Diaries. Freeform never had any, although Shadowhunters came pretty close. Originally set to become Disney Channel’s first YA drama before moving to the sister channel at the witching hour, Coven Academy is a new attempt at capturing the gateway horror crowd. The Freshman drama checks off boxes with compelling characters, an engaging story, and intoxicating romance, but it holds itself back with uneven pacing and tonal clashes.
Chemistry is Magic
Coven Academy’s premise of a magical teen discovering her powers and going to a school for gifted youngsters is a recognizable trope. Federle never shies away from its similarities to Charmed and Legacies. For what it is worth, Coven Academy is a spiritual fan-made story combining elements from those two. The series at its core is a coming-of-age saga about the power of togetherness for young women. Themes of sisterhood, love, and kinship are contextualized by the covens and relationships throughout Season One.
Connection is the beating heart of Coven Academy in more ways than one. Not only are the students there to hone their powers, but also to learn how to belong to something bigger than themselves. The witches are required to rely on each other so that they can stand together against the dark forces that threaten the world. Briar, Sasha, and Tegan share a chemistry like their lives depend on it. Malina Weissman, Jordan Leftwich, and Ora Duplass play their characters with a synergy that young women can resonate with.
Although their characters are common archetypes for any genre, there is comfort in their familiarities and collective screen presence. Weissman’s Briar is our main character and outspoken rebel with a cause. Leftwich is the Type A overachiever as Sasha, and Ora Duplass is the bubbly one, often underestimated as Tegan. Have you ever heard the saying, “two sides of the same coin?” These leading ladies make a compelling argument for why there are three. They simultaneously have nothing and everything in common.
Tangled Webs
New Orleans hosts witches and warlocks in a generational feud with vampires. Heated rivalries typically invite certain complications, most especially affairs of the heart. Briar, being the new girl, is caught in a complicated relationship with one of them – Ollie (Louis Thresher), much to the warlock Jake’s chagrin (Malachi Burton). If there is one plot device Federle wields with precision, it is teen romance. He knows how to maximize conflict with tension and chemistry between leads to hook young audiences.
Is Coven Academy perfect? No, it is not. While it takes many cues from Charmed, The Vampire Diaries, and Legacies, they are not evenly executed. The series takes a while to find its identity. Pacing is noticeably inconsistent in the first half of Season One, as episode runtimes average between 11 and 17 minutes. Another inconsistent factor is the tone. At times you can watch this show and question who it is for. Initially set as Disney Channel’s first YA drama, Coven Academy is one of the studio’s more mature offerings, but not as much as Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Some set pieces and moments of dialogue work against the tone until Episode 10 establishes a steady rhythm for the rest of the season.
Coven Academy finds redemption with rising stakes against Briar and her team. This is where the crescendo comes into play. Secrets and true natures begin to unravel, personal connections are put to the test, and deadly mistakes are made. At this point, we can fully invest in the storyline, as opposed to the genre tropes the series has been coasting on.
Coven Academy Is Worth Enchantment
Disney’s Coven Academy is not winning over die-hard horror fanatics. It will, however, be enough to satisfy Generations Z and Alpha for its lead characters, entertaining plot, mystery, and themes of love and kinship. Despite its flaws, the supernatural series is a fun entry into the Halloween spirit because of Tim Federle’s vision along with the cast and crew’s ability to see it through.
The first nine episodes of Coven Academy will be out on Thursday, October 1st on Freeform. All twenty-one episodes will be out on Disney+ and Hulu the next day.
