Sky Adapting A Discovery of Witches for TV

The best-selling novel A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness is being adapted for television as a Sky Original Production from Bad Wolf.

The adaptation, starring Matthew Goode (Downton Abbey) and Teresa Palmer (Hacksaw Ridge), is set for Sky 1 and NOW TV. Shooting will begin in September at the new Wolf Studios in Wales and on location in Oxford.

A Discovery of Witches is a contemporary love story set against the backdrop of Oxford academic life, but in a world where a handful of witches, vampires and demons live and work unseen amongst humans. Palmer will star as brilliant academic and historian Diana Bishop, a reluctant witch denying her heritage. The discovery of a manuscript in Oxford’s Bodleian Library throws her into the heart of a dangerous mystery—and into the path of enigmatic geneticist Matthew Clairmont (Goode), who also has a dark family secret: he is a vampire.

International distribution for the series will be handled by Sky Vision.

Harkness said: “Teresa and Matthew perfectly capture my characters—I’m so excited by the casting and how they will bring the books to life.”

Anne Mensah, Sky’s head of drama, said: “A Discovery of Witches is a proper love story for grown-ups. However, the fact that it also examines science, magic and being ‘other’ in the modern world makes it a must-watch. Deborah Harkness and Kate Brooke have given us a drama that packs both an emotional and thought-provoking punch. With the breathtaking vision of director Juan Carlos Medina and the Bad Wolf team, I feel very confident we are offering our customers something truly magical.”

Showrunner Kate Brooke added: “The show is a relationship drama, grounded in emotional truth. Diana and Matthew, like all couples who meet and fall in love, at times struggle to understand each other and come to terms with their differences. And if you’re a vampire and a witch, those differences are huge.”

Jane Tranter, executive producer at Bad Wolf, added: “A Discovery of Witches is a bold contemporary love story beautifully adapted by Kate Brooke from the books by Deborah Harkness. We can’t wait to introduce fans of the novels to our cast and to bring in a whole new audience to these extraordinary stories.”