Disney's newest supernatural drama, Coven Academy, premiered Thursday on Freeform, following a cast of teenage witches and warlocks navigating an elite magic boarding school in New Orleans. The full season drops the next day on Disney+ and Hulu, giving fans a chance to binge the entire run right after the broadcast debut.
Ahead of the launch, the cast and creator gathered for a celebration at the historic Ennis House in Los Angeles, according to ABC7 Eyewitness News. The night leaned fully into the show's witchy theme, with tarot card readings, crystals and a themed dinner rounding out the celebration, the outlet reported.
The series centers on Briar, played by Malina Pauli Weissman, described by BroadwayWorld as a fiercely independent New Yorker who discovers she's a witch. Briar must learn to master her powers alongside her magical peers at the Academy, a journey that forms the emotional core of the new series.
A New Circle of Classmates and Faculty
Briar isn't navigating the Academy alone. Jordan Leftwich plays Sasha and Ora Duplass plays Tegan, two of Briar's closest classmates and friends, per the Walt Disney Company's own announcement. Swayam Bhatia rounds out the student roster as McKenna, another witch at the school, the ABC7 report notes.
Romance factors in too: Louis Thresher plays Ollie, described as a character with a secret or two and one of Briar's two love interests, while Malachi Barton plays Jake, her other romantic prospect, per the same account. On the faculty side, Devon Sawa and Tiffani Thiessen join the cast as Coven Academy staff members Mr. Cole and Miss Graves, respectively.
Thiessen is widely recognized for an earlier TV role — her days as Kelly Kapowski on Saved by the Bell, as ABC7 notes in a separate piece reflecting on her television career. Bhatia, for her part, joined the premiere celebration during a night off from stadium performances tied to the Worlds Collide concert tour, saying the show has meant the world to the cast and praising Coven Academy as a step forward in Disney's culture.
From Found Family to a Shorter Binge Format
Coven Academy was created by Tim Federle, who also serves as executive producer, according to BroadwayWorld. Federle previously created High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and directed the film Romy and Michele 2, and he directed the Coven Academy pilot before handing the reins to an all-female director lineup for the rest of the season, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The season comprises 21 chapters, with episodes running shorter than typical TV fare — anywhere from 10 to 22 minutes at most, the Hollywood Reporter states. That bite-sized format is part of a broader push described by the Walt Disney Company, which frames the series as centered on found family and characters coming together, both teenagers and adults alike.
Federle has said Coven Academy marks one of Disney+'s first young-adult series, aiming to occupy a middle ground between the company's younger-skewing shows and nostalgia-driven content, according to People. He described one of his biggest motivations as pushing boundaries, both for himself and for Disney, citing influences that include Dawson's Creek, Harry Potter and The Vampire Diaries.
Coven Academy premieres on Freeform Oct. 1, with the full season arriving on Disney+ and Hulu Oct. 2, all properties of the Walt Disney Company, giving fans multiple ways to catch Briar and her classmates as they settle into life at the Academy.
