AMC’s Anne Rice TV universe is proving to be worth the investment, with the latest show in the lineup, “Mayfair Witches,” dethroning the first title, “Interview With the Vampire,” as AMC+’s biggest ever new series premiere.
Debuting at 9 p.m. Jan. 8 on AMC and AMC+, along with a multi-network simulcast across AMC Networks’ BBC America, IFC, SundanceTV and WE TV, the first episode of the Alexandra Daddario-led “Mayfair Witches” garnered more viewers during its first five days of availability on the streaming platform than “Interview,” the previous record holder, had over that same window after its Oct. 2 premiere.
Looking at linear ratings alone, the “Mayfair Witches” premiere drew 1.7 million viewers, per Nielsen’s Live + 3 day data. Those returns make “Mayfair” a top 10 cable drama among adults 18-49 and 25-54 for the 2022-2023 TV season.
AMC notes “Mayfair” stirred up quite the conversation on premiere night, counting as the top “most social entertainment show” on Sunday, “with hundreds of thousands of interactions,” and “drove the most social activity of any new cable series premiere” during the current TV season, which the cable network attributes in part to Daddario’s “significant social reach.”
Based on Rice’s best-selling trilogy, “Lives of the Mayfair Witches,” the eight-episode series focuses on an intuitive young neurosurgeon, Rowan Fielding (Daddario), who discovers that she is the unlikely heir to a family of witches. As she grapples with her newfound powers, she must contend with a sinister presence that has haunted her family for generations.
Along with Daddario, the series stars Jack Huston as Lasher, Tongayi Chirisa as Ciprien Grieve and Harry Hamlin as Cortland Mayfair.
“Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches” hails from AMC Studios and is executive produced by Mark Johnson, showrunner Esta Spalding, writer Michelle Ashford, director Michael Uppendahl and Jeff Freilich.
“What a start to our Anne Rice Immortal Universe, with two series that are driving cultural conversation, attracting significant linear viewership and now stand as the top two new series in the history of AMC+,” Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks, told Variety. “We are grateful for the way fans have responded to these shows and to the creative teams that delivered on the promise of these stories and characters in new and highly engaging ways. Thanks to Mark Johnson, Esta Spalding, Michelle Ashford and the entire cast of ‘Mayfair,’ led by the remarkable Alexandra Daddario, for delivering an entertaining and highly watchable series and putting firmly in place another key foundational element of this dynamic universe.”
New episodes of “Mayfair Witches” will debut on AMC at 9 p.m. each Sunday, and will become available for streaming three days prior on AMC+.