Mayfair Witches 2025 Tv Series Review Trailer Poster

 Since acquiring the rights to the late Anne Rice’s catalog of gothic horror literature in 2020, AMC has been hard at work developing what they’ve dubbed the “Immortal Universe,” an interconnected franchise based on Rice’s works and characters that spans across multiple TV shows. The first, Interview with the Vampire, premiered in 2022 and has since received massive critical and audience acclaim across its two seasons; 2023’s Mayfair Witches, which further fleshed out the on-screen world, tells the story of the titular, magic-wielding family and the demon linked to them over the centuries.

There’s even more of the Immortal Universe set to premiere sometime this year, now that AMC has greenlit a series about the Talamasca, the mysterious organization tasked with overseeing all things supernatural (and intervening when necessary). However, while Interview with the Vampire set the bar high from the start with its tumultuous and complex depiction of the eternal beings at its center, The Mayfair Witches has struggled to reach the same level as its predecessor. Season 2, which once again follows Rowan Mayfair (Alexandra Daddario) as she attempts to delve deeper into her power, is at its best when it embraces its horror elements as well as its ties to the wider Immortal Universe, but its strongest pieces fail to forge into something consistently fascinating.

Stars: Alexandra Daddario, Harry Hamlin, Tongayi Chirisa

On the heels of having given birth to the demonic spirit Lasher (Jack Huston), allowing him to take human form in the world, Rowan is immediately thrown into a crisis of conscience about her powers when we first catch up with her at the beginning of Season 2. Her complicated connection to Lasher as his lover and now mother imbues her with abilities unlike anything she’s ever had before, allowing her to accomplish seemingly impossible feats, such as curing someone of what would otherwise be a terminal illness. But this newfound strength has limits; the more physically distanced Rowan is from Lasher (specifically, from his blood), the faster her magic is depleted. There's also the fact that Lasher is not a normal human child, drinking milk by the bucketful and growing at an accelerated rate. In a matter of days, he goes from an infant to a toddler to a teenager, with limited memories of his past existence and absolutely no impulse control to speak of.

If things weren't already complicated, Rowan has distanced herself from anyone who might serve as an ally in her time of need. All trust between her and Ciprien Grieve (Tongayi Chirisa) has been shattered, especially now that Sip is trying to juggle his own duties in Talamasca and his lingering feelings for Rowan; as for Cortland (Harry Hamlin), he remains a frozen statue hanging in the basement of the Mayfair house, but trusting him and what he knows about Lasher is an absolute last resort. 

Meanwhile, another powerful family member has just arrived in New Orleans looking for answers about what happened to her sister Tessa (Madison Wolfe) last season; Moira (Alyssa Jirrels) has her own issues with Lasher regarding his relationship with the Mayfairs, as well as his disturbing ability to read minds, and while she and Rowan clash at first, their shared desire to protect their family may allow them to put aside their grievances and work together. But as Lasher grows in age and strength, and certain Mayfair women begin to pay the price, Rowan has to decide if her newfound power is worth the cost of other lives.

Though Season 1 could undeniably be categorized as gothic horror (the Mayfair house, with its crumbling walls, flickering lights, and strange events, was the most evidence of that influence), Season 2 expands the scope of its scares just in time for the setting to similarly broaden, and the show is at its best when it’s not shying away from its most disturbing imagery. In one scene, Rowan wakes up in the middle of the night to find a young Lasher standing over her, pulling out her baby teeth and laughing before smiling a messy, bloody grin; in another, a character hallucinates cutting off their own arm before serving that severed limb on a plate for someone else to eat. 

These visceral, blatant moments are far too few and far between throughout the seven episodes provided for review, and Season 2 misses a few opportunities to cross over into genuinely scary territory. The relationship between Rowan and Lasher should be a thorny and uncomfortable path to navigate on its own, now that she's literally given birth to the physical embodiment of her demon lover, but the show paints them much closer to a star-crossed romance than it ever was.

Watch Mayfair Witches 2025 Tv Series Trailer