Eastwick (TV series)
Three women discover their witch powers after a mysterious stranger arrives.
Eastwick, a fantasy comedy-drama from ABC, ran from late September 2009 to mid-February 2010. Maggie Friedman adapted John Updike’s 1984 novel The Witches of Eastwick for television. Paul Gross portrayed Darryl Van Horne, while Jaime Ray Newman, Lindsay Price, and Rebecca Romijn played the three witches of the title.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Comedy drama
- Fantasy
- Supernatural
- Based on
- The Witches of Eastwick, John Updike
- Developer
- Maggie Friedman
- Composer
- Blake Neely
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Seasons
- 1
- Episodes
- 13 (2 unaired)
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Three dissatisfied women in Eastwick, New England—Joanna Frankel, Katherine Gardener, and Roxanne Torcoletti—each wish for change in their lives. The next day, a mysterious stranger named Darryl Van Horne arrives and begins courting them. He reveals their witch talents and encourages them to explore their abilities, but the women grow concerned about his ultimate intentions.
Cast
Katherine 'Kat' Gardener, played by Jaime Ray Newman, is a nurse and mother of five who exhibits elementalism—control over air, earth, fire, water, lightning, and weather—and later healing abilities. Joanna Frankel, played by Lindsay Price, is a news reporter with hypnotic mind control over men and later telekinetic powers. Roxanne 'Roxie' Torcoletti, played by Rebecca Romijn, is a widowed sculptor with clairvoyance, able to see and hear the dead, read thoughts, and foresee events. Other cast members include Ashley Benson as Mia Torcoletti, Jon Bernthal as Raymond Gardener, Veronica Cartwright as Bun Waverly, Sara Rue as Penny Higgins, Johann Urb as Will St. David, Paul Gross as Darryl Van Horne, Darren Criss as Josh Burton, Matt Dallas as Chad Burton, Jason George as Max Brody, Jack Huston as Jamie Dalton, Cybill Shepherd as Eleanor Rougement, and Torsten Voges as Fidel.
Production
Two earlier television adaptations of the original film were produced but not picked up: a 1992 NBC pilot starring Julia Campbell, Catherine Mary Stewart, Ally Walker, and Michael Siberry, and a 2002 Fox pilot starring Marcia Cross, Kelly Rutherford, Lori Loughlin, and Jason O'Mara. The series was conceived by Maggie Friedman as a show about female empowerment that is magical yet real. ABC picked it up in early 2009. Filming took place on the Warner Bros. Studios backlot, using the same town square as Gilmore Girls. The pilot began filming in August 2009 after all casting was complete, with Matt Dallas cast last on July 30. The show aired Wednesdays at 10:00pm Eastern/9:00pm Central after Cougar Town. A musical episode was suggested but never produced. The last day of shooting was November 16, 2009. Eastwick was one of eighty-four shows canceled in 2010. After cancellation, an online campaign by Kristin of E! Online saw Eastwick win a poll with 54.5% of the vote for a second chance. Show creator Maggie Friedman was reportedly extremely frustrated and angry with the network's handling.
Reception
Eastwick opened to mixed reviews, with Metacritic scoring the pilot 50% from 21 critical reviews. Entertainment Weekly gave the pilot a B, comparing it to Desperate Housewives with magic. Variety called it a polished product with potential. The Boston Globe praised it as allegory that could be plausibly silly while hinting at real issues, preferring it to Desperate Housewives. The New York Post gave it a Grade A−, the highest for any new fall show of 2009. Internationally, the show performed better. In the United Kingdom, the pilot aired November 24, 2009, drawing 262,000 total viewers on Hallmark and Hallmark+1, placing #2 and #1 respectively. The sixth episode reached 304,000 viewers, topping both channels. The United Kingdom aired episodes eleven and thirteen—the series finale—before they aired in the United States. Episode eleven on January 19, 2010 had 188,000 viewers; the finale on February 14, 2010 achieved 201,000 on Hallmark (series high) and 93,000 on Hallmark+1, totaling 294,000. Hallmark broadcasts averaged 157,846 viewers, Hallmark+1 averaged 69,846, and combined averaged 227,692.
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