Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale - General Discussion

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Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale is a 7 episode Genre TV Series with the first 2 episodes streaming on January 3, 2024 on Sundance Now and AMC+.
Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale is based on the 2019 novel "Sanctuary" by V.V. James, about the death of a star high school quarterback, set in Connecticut, while the TV series changes the location to rural England.

What if a witch hunt involved real witches? Here is a contemporary world where witchcraft is real.

Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale takes place in the idyllic English town of Sanctuary, where for hundreds of years witches have lived peacefully, as valued members of society. Until now. Sarah Fenn is Sanctuary's resident witch, on whom the town relies to solve their medical problems when conventional remedies have failed. When local teen rugby star, Dan Whithall, dies tragically in an apparent accident, his death exposes a terrifying undercurrent of suspicion and fear towards Sarah and her teenage daughter, Harper. Mother of the dead boy, Abigail, once Sarah's closest friend, is wracked with grief, and launches a modern-day witch-hunt to avenge her son's death and get "justice", no matter what the cost.

Valerie O’Connor as Bridget Patterson

Kelly Campbell as Julia Garston

Elaine Cassidy as Sarah Fenn, a witch

Hazel Doupe as Harper Fenn, Sarah's daughter 

Amy de Bhrun as Abigail Whithall, mother of Dan Whithall 

Max Lohan as Daniel Whithall, dead local teen rugby star

Barry John Kinsella as Michael Whithall

Stephanie Levi-John as DCI Maggie Knight

Stephen Lord as Ted Bolt

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Oops, first sentence should be: Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale is a 7 episode Genre TV Series with the first 2 episodes streaming on January 4, 2024 on Sundance Now and AMC+.

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Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale        January 4, 2024       Sundance Now / AMC+

Episodes 1-2       Titles and Descriptions

Spoiler

S01.E01: Episode 1
When a teen sports star dies at a party, a police investigation suggests there’s more to his death than meets the eye.

S01.E02: Episode 2
Sarah seeks to disprove accusations of witchcraft against her daughter Harper whilst Abigail resorts to blackmail.

[Snazzy Daisy]

Episode 01 - 02

This feels like a low-budget British crime drama than a witchcraft/occult show. Can it be better than Mayfair Witches?

Dan Whithall dies from falling down the stairs - does he trip, is he pushed, or is there some kind of curse/energy that makes him fall? Based on a flashback, Dan has been resurrected by Sarah once before, when he was a kid. And now Abigail has demanded Sarah to do it again.

It seems like Amy De Bhrún (Abigail Whithall) hasn’t improved her acting chops, still wooden.

Angsty Harper is so unlikeable, it’s hard to relate and sympathize with her. 

So far, the only tolerable character is DCI Maggie Knight.

[AnimeMania]

Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale Season 2 (6 episodes) is now filming in Ireland. 

Season two picks up a year after the traumatic events of season one. Sarah Fenn (Elaine Cassidy) and her daughter Harper (Hazel Doupe) are in hiding in Scotland, concealing Harper's extraordinary powers, but a dark cloud is descending as recent anti-witch legislation has increased hate crimes. As Sarah worries worse is to come, she's presented with a dramatic ultimatum - return to Sanctuary as the secret eyes and ears of the witch ruling body, The Moot, or have her magic bound. Determined to retain her powers and protect Harper at all costs, Sarah returns home just as a mysterious murder takes place, also drawing DCI Maggie Knight (Stephanie Levi-John) back to Sanctuary.