Magic, Bloodlines, and the Price of Power

TV SERIES REVIEW
Mayfair Witches: Season 2
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Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Drama
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 8 x 1h episodes
Showrunner(s): Esta Spalding, Michelle Ashford
Cast: Alexandra Daddario, Tongayi Chirisa, Jack Huston, Harry Hamlin, Jen Richards, Charlayne Woodard, Ben Feldman, Alyssa Jirrels, Geraldine Singer, Dennis Boutsikaris
Where to Watch: on digital & physical August 25, 2025

RAVING REVIEW: The second season of ANNE RICE’S MAYFAIR WITCHES wastes no time throwing its characters — and its audience — into a gothic spiral of inheritance, power, and consequence. Picking up after Rowan Fielding (Alexandra Daddario) gave birth to the embodiment of the entity Lasher, the story sharpens its focus on what happens when the supernatural curse of a bloodline grows before our eyes. As Lasher accelerates unnaturally from infancy to adulthood, the Mayfairs face the full weight of their family’s dark pact, and the results are more sinister and volatile than anything hinted at in the first season.

This shift makes Season 2 feel like a true escalation, building on the foundation laid in the opener while steering into darker, more dangerous territory. Daddario carries much of the burden, portraying Rowan as both a reluctant mother and a woman terrified of what her son represents. It’s a demanding role — Rowan is pulled between empowerment and destruction — and while her performance sometimes struggles under the weight of contradictory writing, she manages to give the season an emotional core.

New additions to the cast help bring something fresh to the story. Ben Feldman and Alyssa Jirrels slip into the ensemble with ease, balancing the established dynamic of Daddario, Tongayi Chirisa’s Ciprien, Jack Huston’s Lasher, and Harry Hamlin’s scheming counter to it all, Cortland. Feldman, in particular, brings a sharpness that helps ground the increasingly heightened drama. The expanded family tree and rivalries offer some of the season’s strongest moments, reminding viewers that Rice’s world isn’t just about otherworldly entities but about the complicated politics of legacy, inheritance, and loyalty.

Visually, the series continues to excel at capturing New Orleans as both a backdrop and something deeper. Its mansions, cemeteries, and candlelit interiors carry an atmosphere that pairs well with the Mayfair family’s cursed lineage. This immersion in place and mood is one of the show’s most consistent strengths, echoing Anne Rice’s fascination with the city. The production design leans into the gothic, and though the effects can occasionally veer into television budget territory, the overall aesthetic successfully conjures the lush decadence the novels are known for.

The season, however, encounters recurring issues. Some of the pacing feels stretched thin, with whole episodes drifting in dreamlike states or circling the same conflicts without resolution. While this adds to the hallucinatory atmosphere, it risks testing the audience’s patience. The challenge lies in balancing the soap-operatic elements — the betrayals, romances, and family scheming — with the supernatural horror. When the series focuses too heavily on melodrama at the expense of its darker undercurrents, it loses momentum.

Another point of contention is the handling of Lasher himself. Huston brings an alluring menace to the role, but the character too often lingers at the edges rather than asserting himself as the frightening, seductive danger he should be. Given that this season is built around his growth and volatile nature, the reluctance to fully embrace him as a central threat feels like a missed opportunity. Instead, the narrative leans on Rowan’s internal struggles, which, while compelling, can’t entirely compensate for Lasher’s underused presence.

That said, the thematic throughline of Season 2 keeps it worth watching. The idea of motherhood entwined with monstrosity — nurturing something that may destroy you — gives the series a sharper edge than its first. Rowan’s fear, guilt, and fascination with her son mirrors the Mayfairs’ generational struggle — every gift of power comes at a cost, and every attempt to control their inheritance tightens the curse’s grip. When the show commits to this tension, it achieves moments that resonate beyond the trappings of genre.

Comparisons to AMC’s other Anne Rice adaptation, INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, are inevitable, and MAYFAIR WITCHES does not reach those same critical heights. Where INTERVIEW thrives on elegance, intensity, and philosophical weight, MAYFAIR WITCHES leans more into pulpy gothic melodrama. That doesn’t make it without merit, there’s a certain appeal in how messy and shocking it can be — but it does suggest the series is still working to find its balance between honoring Rice’s intricate mythology and appealing to a broader TV audience.

Chirisa’s Ciprien, a character created for the show, remains divisive but provides necessary narrative glue, standing in for several characters from the novels. Hamlin relishes the charm of Cortland, giving the series one of its more reliable scene-stealers. Together, they maintain enough charisma to keep the ensemble compelling, even when the script falters.

Ultimately, Season 2 represents a step forward in ambition, if not in execution. It builds on the foundation of Season 1 with higher stakes, more sinister themes, and richer atmosphere, but it also struggles under uneven pacing and an underdeveloped antagonist. Still, it’s a series that thrives in its gothic aesthetic and family drama, enough to keep Rice fans engaged even if they’re left craving more depth.

For those collecting physical media, Acorn Media International’s August release of Season 2, along with the Seasons 1 & 2 box set, will be a welcome addition to shelves. The extras and preservation of the series ensure that this dark chapter in the Immortal Universe isn’t lost to streaming rotation.

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[photo courtesy of ACORN MEDIA INTERNATIONAL]

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