We had such fun recording this surprise episode with none other than Lachlan MacKinnon, executive producer of A Discovery of Witches TV. Mr. MacKinnon is a delight — please tune in as we discuss adapting Season 2 for the screen and his goals for Season 3!
Follow us on Twitter as @chamomilenclove for details and updates. For between episodes fun and news, please follow our Facebook page or consider joining our listeners’ group, the Chamomile & Clove Clovers. If you’d like to support the show, we’d love a review on iTunes or your pod-fetcher of choice. You could also check out our Redbubble store or our Patreon.
Teresa Palmer as Diana Bishop and Matthew Goode as Matthew de Clermont in A Discovery of Witches. Image sourced from A Discovery of Witches on Twitter.
With only five days remaining in our countdown to Season 2, it’s time to follow Deb and A Discovery of Witches TV in relishing every single tiny detail the art department created for the series. When we talked about adaptation a few days ago, we briefly mentioned the kind of work and imagination that goes into taking a story from one medium to another — as a reader, you might envision a set–Philippe’s office, Matthew’s study, Diana’s bedroom–in broad strokes. You might fill it with “furniture” or “objects” or “clothes” in your head, or you might leave bits in shadow while your imagination focuses on the characters and what they’re doing on the page. One of the great challenges of imagination and scale for a TV adaptation is taking, for example, “Philippe’s study” as a concept and turning it into a real, organic space in which actors can tell a story.
Because we’re positively spoiled in this fandom, we have tremendous access to the set dressing and artwork of A Discovery of Witches TV even before the premiere. Deb’s #book2screenmagicmonday posts give us the chance to see set dressings up close — handwritten letters in Matthew’s attic, the embroidery on a de Clermont livery saddle pad, the carvings on Matthew and Diana’s period-appropriate bed.
The man in charge of the magic, production designer James North, gave a fabulous interview to Entertainment Weekly at the start of Season 1. In that interview, he talked about creating the overall “feel” of the production and giving it that magical depth:
Though every set is grounded in reality, the series’ tale of witches, vampires, and daemons automatically calls for a heightened magical element. However, North says it’s really not all that different from production design on any project. “It’s almost a slightly heightened reality we’re producing,” he says. “You do things which aren’t normal. You would never color-coordinate how your cereal boxes line up in your cupboard, but that’s the sort of thing we would do.”
So, when you look at those jaw-dropping sets, those intricate details, you have to realize that each one was put there with intention and care. You can take a deep-dive into the production team’s work in Season 1 via this incredible look at the Witches’ Archive on Isola della Stella from AMC.
We can’t wait to see the rich colors, the intense detail, the care and craft that went into each set in Season 2. If you could take a deep dive into any setting in Shadow of Night, where would it be? Where would you pull every item off the shelf and look in every corner?
We’ll celebrate the premiere of Season 2 with a live-tweet on Saturday, 9 January 2021, at 7pm EST. Use the hashtag #ccalchemy to join us and invite your friends!
In the meantime, follow us on Twitter or join our Facebook group, the Chamomile & Clove Clovers, to connect with us and other fans dreaming about the magic and wonder of Season 2. See you tomorrow!
“The Armada Portrait” of Elizabeth I, located at Woburn Abbey, dated 1588.
Y’all. We’re only nine sleeps and a wake-up — or ten days — from the premiere of Season 2 of A Discovery of Witches TV on Shudder, Sundance Now, and AMC+ on 9 January 2021. To get properly excited, we thought we’d share our thoughts on what we’re most looking forward to about Season 2.
Elizabeth I, as portrayed by Barbara Marten in Season 2 of A Discovery of Witches. Image captured from trailer released by Sky One.
One of everyone’s favorite aspects of Shadow of Night, the source text for Season 2 of A Discovery of Witches TV, is how it whisks the reader into Tudor England — full of real people, real intrigue, and real events. From early production stills, trailers, and behind-the-scenes sneak peaks, we can certainly expect to encounter our favorite historical people and places from the books on-screen. For many of us, this is a wonderful opportunity to attend the court of Elizabeth I in the company of Matthew Roydon, her shadowy spy, and to peruse the extensive library of John Dee. Thanks to the incredible production team at Bad Wolf, we’re in for a phenomenal tour of Tudor England and Renaissance Europe–warrens, libraries, castles, countryside, and everything in between. If you haven’t already, take some time to watch this incredible “Behind the Magic” feature from New York Comic Con this fall and get in the mood for some A+ historical tourism.
If you can’t get enough, you should also check out the fabulous Biography Sundays in the All Souls Discussion Group on Facebook — there are book discussions, chapter questions, and lots of great details about characters (real and imagined!) from the All Souls Universe.
We’ll celebrate the premiere of Season 2 with a live-tweet on Saturday, 9 January 2021, at 7pm EST. Use the hashtag #ccalchemy to join in the fun and keep your eyes peeled for our updated release and live tweet schedule.
In the meantime, follow us on Twitter or join our Facebook group, the Chamomile & Clove Clovers, to connect with us and other fans eagerly awaiting the return of our favorite series in just. ten. days.
Tell us which historical figure you’re most excited to see in Season 2 in the comments!
In this episode, we discuss A Discovery of Witches TV episode 1×06. There will be violence, vengeance, Box Witch, and a GD VIP to swoop in and shake things up.
Continue the discussion of the episode over on our Facebook discussion group, the C&C Clovers, shoot us an email to chamomileandclovecast.gmail.com, or Tweet @chamomilenclove using #ccalchemy. We look forward to hearing from you!
The wait is finally over! A Discovery of Witches TV is LIVE in the United States and Canada! Thank you to everyone who joined us for our inaugural live tweet — we’re so excited to have shared the premiere with you tonight.
Because we know you CAN’T WAIT to talk about this phenomenal episode, we’re giving you our first episode of TV coverage RIGHT THIS MINUTE.
Finally, if you’re interested, you can support us on Patreon for $1 a month. As a Clover, you’ll receive a personalized postcard from us and access to any special content we produce in the coming months. We’re so incredibly grateful for your support and can’t wait to keep talking about these incredible characters in the weeks to come.
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