It sure feels like the writers behind A Discovery of Witches knew in advance that they'd be getting a second and third season pickup, seeing as they sprinkled in quite a few hints from Shadow of Night and The Book of Life, the sequel novels to A Discovery of Witches. There are plenty of Easter eggs from the sequels. It's absolutely one of the best changes the series made. Matthew is still acknowledged as a predator and a force to be reckoned with he just doesn't rely so much on misogynistic behavior that aims to force Diana to shut up and do as she's told. A lot of it is brushed aside as 'darn, those male vampires and their sexy, sexy overprotectiveness,' but the series pushed away from that mentality hard. One of the least likable elements of the first novel in the All Souls series is Matthew's controlling and often violent nature.

The witch wind scene, for example, happens as a confrontation with other witches rather than when Diana is alone with Matthew in order to increase the tension and up the stakes. To remedy that problem, the series adjust a few key scenes (and even creates a couple new ones) in order to make the discovery of her powers more exciting. Diana's powers in the novel tended to manifest in impressive displays that were surprising, but not necessarily dynamic enough to engage viewers the same way they did readers. Here are all the major changes you can expect to see in the screen adaptation of A Discovery of Witches.Įxpect more action. There are small changes like casting Matthew's vampire mother Ysbeau ( Lindsay Duncan) with an older actress rather than appearing a tad younger than Matthew like she did in the novel, and then there are the big changes that shift the story in pretty impactful ways. How do you squeeze everything in there without missing out on the important character beats needed to make the story feel organic?Ī Discovery of Witches ended up doing a masterful job choosing what to include and what to play down (let's all send a quiet prayer of thanks that the horseback riding scene made it in), while also making a few tweaks to make the whole thing more cinematic.ĭiscover your new favorite show: Watch This Now! While the novel had nearly 600 pages worth of twists, turns, and brushes with death, as a TV series, A Discovery of Witches only had eight short episodes to tell Matthew ( Matthew Goode) and Diana's ( Teresa Palmer) story, which presented a bit of a problem. Luckily for A Discovery of Witches fans, the series first season is actually an incredibly faithful adaptation of the original novel - and in some ways, it's even better! For some reason, it seems like Hollywood's favorite thing to do is completely destroy everything fans love about the source material.

Whenever TV decides to take a stab at adapting a beloved novel, readers around the world tend to cringe and brace for impact.

A discovery of witches trilogy