'Lives Of The Mayfair Witches': AMC Expands Its Anne Rice TV Universe With A New Series From 'Masters Of Sex' Creator

AMC has made it abundantly clear that the deal with Anne Rice for the TV rights to a swath of her novels is all part of a master plan to populate its network and streaming platform with the latest, greatest TV franchise. And AMC is already making good on its promise by developing the second Anne Rice series of the year, with “Lives of the Mayfair Witches.”

According to THR, AMC has brought on Esta Spalding and Michelle Ashford to writer and executive produce a series based on the “Lives of the Mayfair Witches” trilogy of novels. The series follows a young neurosurgeon that makes the shocking discovery that she is actually part of a family of witches and must come to terms with this newfound role and her blossoming powers. If the series moves ahead into production, Spalding will serve as showrunner. Both writers are best known for their work on “Masters of Sex,” with Ashford the creator of the popular series.

READ MORE: AMC Orders ‘Interview With The Vampire’ Series As First Of A Potential Anne Rice TV Franchise

“We have an enormous amount of ambition for these iconic works, which have captivated and entertained millions of fans around the world, so it is gratifying to be moving so quickly from the Interview greenlight to exploring a second series with such talented and accomplished writers and creators as Esta and Michelle,” said Dan McDermott, president of original programming at AMC Networks and AMC Studios. “We take our responsibility to deliver compelling television to both existing and new fans of this material incredibly seriously, as we move deliberately to develop these titles into a new franchise and universe for AMC+ and AMC.”

As mentioned, this new series, combined with the greenlit “Interview with the Vampire,” are all part of a massive deal AMC struck with Rice for the rights to her “Vampire Chronicles” and “Mayfair Witches” book series, which comprises nearly 20 novels to date. Clearly, as McDermott said in his statement, AMC is banking big on Rice and her fanbase to turn these series into massive hits that could somehow spawn a ‘Walking Dead’-esque mega-franchise.

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“Interview with the Vampire” is already in the middle of casting and should begin production soon. That would likely put the series in contention for a 2022 debut. “Lives of the Mayfair Witches” is still in the early stages of development, so it will likely debut well after ‘Vampire.’