Hey, everyone! How’s it going? Today I’m here to review the drama A Discovery of Witches, which brings Deborah Harkness’s bestselling All Souls Trilogy to life with all the supernatural romance, academic intrigue, and magical politics you could want from a fantasy series.
A Discovery of Witches premiered on Sky One on September 14, 2018, running for three seasons with a total of 25 episodes, each with an average runtime of 45 minutes. The series later became available on multiple platforms including AMC+, BBC America, Netflix, and Prime Video. Based on the All Souls Trilogy novels by Deborah Harkness, the series stars Teresa Palmer as Diana Bishop, a reluctant witch and historian at Oxford University, and Matthew Goode as Matthew Clairmont, a centuries-old vampire who becomes her unlikely protector and lover.
Set against the backdrop of Oxford’s ancient libraries and laboratories, A Discovery of Witches weaves together academic research, supernatural politics, and forbidden romance. The series doesn’t shy away from the complex mythology of its source material, instead embracing the intricate world-building that makes witches, vampires, and daemons feel like natural parts of our hidden world.
Diana’s Awakening: From Reluctant Scholar to Powerful Witch
Teresa Palmer delivers a compelling performance as Diana Bishop, a historian who has spent years suppressing her magical abilities after a childhood trauma involving her parents’ mysterious deaths. Diana’s character arc throughout the series showcases her journey from denial to acceptance as she discovers that her magical heritage is far more significant than she ever imagined. Her relationship with the ancient manuscript Ashmole 782 serves as the catalyst for both her magical awakening and her dangerous romance with Matthew.
Throughout the three seasons, Diana evolves from a woman running from her destiny to someone who embraces her role as a timewalker and weaver, one of the most powerful types of witches. Palmer brings vulnerability and strength to a character who must learn to balance her academic rational mind with the chaotic power of ancient magic.
Matthew’s Eternal Struggle: Love Versus Nature
Matthew Goode shines as Matthew Clairmont, a 1,500-year-old vampire who works as a geneticist while secretly trying to understand the declining populations of supernatural creatures. Matthew’s relationship with Diana breaks every rule of the supernatural world, where vampires and witches are natural enemies. His character represents the tension between civilized behavior and primal instincts, as his love for Diana forces him to confront his violent past and predatory nature.
The series explores Matthew’s complex history through flashbacks to different time periods, showing how centuries of existence have shaped his personality and his approach to both love and survival. Goode brings depth to a character who could easily become a standard vampire romantic lead, instead creating someone whose immortality feels like both a gift and a burden.
Time Travel Changes Everything: Elizabethan London Adventure
The series builds to its most ambitious storyline in season two when Diana and Matthew travel back to 1590s London to hide from the Congregation, the governing body of supernatural creatures. This time-travel arc allows the show to explore Matthew’s past as a spy in Elizabethan England while Diana learns magic from the witches of the past. The historical setting provides some of the series’ most visually stunning and emotionally complex episodes.
The time travel storyline doesn’t just serve as fantasy spectacle but becomes crucial to the overarching plot about the Book of Life and the future of all supernatural species. It’s during their time in the past that both Diana and Matthew must confront uncomfortable truths about power, survival, and the costs of forbidden love.
The Supporting Supernatural World: Family and Politics
The series excels in creating a rich supporting cast that includes Alex Kingston as Diana’s aunt Sarah, a powerful witch dealing with her own romantic complications, and James Purefoy as Philippe de Clermont, Matthew’s vampire sire whose machinations span centuries. These characters create the complex family dynamics and political intrigue that drive much of the series’ conflict beyond the central romance.
The show’s portrayal of supernatural politics through the Congregation and various covens adds layers of complexity to what could have been a simple love story, showing how personal relationships become entangled with species survival and ancient prejudices.
Success on Multiple Platforms
A Discovery of Witches earned a 7.9 rating on IMDb and found devoted audiences across multiple streaming platforms and networks. The series ran for three complete seasons from 2018 to 2022, allowing for a full adaptation of Harkness’s trilogy while maintaining strong production values throughout. The show developed a passionate fanbase who appreciated its faithful adaptation of the source material, though some critics felt the pacing could be uneven and the mythology occasionally overwhelming for newcomers to the books.
Perfect Binge for Fantasy Romance Lovers
If you love supernatural romance, academic settings, time travel adventures, and complex magical world-building, A Discovery of Witches is the perfect series to binge on Netflix, AMC+, or Prime Video. The show proves that book adaptations work best when they embrace rather than simplify their source material’s complexity.
Why A Discovery of Witches Casts Its Own Spell
A Discovery of Witches succeeds as both fantasy entertainment and romantic drama, offering viewers a complete supernatural world where academic research meets ancient magic. With strong performances from Palmer and Goode anchoring three seasons of increasingly complex storytelling, the series provides satisfying escapism for fans of both literary fantasy and romantic television.
Series Details
Number of Episodes: 25 episodes across 3 seasons (completed series)
Platform: Sky One, Netflix, AMC+, BBC America, Prime Video
Release/End Year: 2018-2022
Current IMDb Rating: 7.9
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Drama
Status: Completed after three seasons
Protagonists: Teresa Palmer (Diana Bishop), Matthew Goode (Matthew Clairmont)
Key Supporting Cast: Alex Kingston (Sarah Bishop), James Purefoy (Philippe de Clermont), Owen Teale (Peter Knox)