Coven Academy has climbed to the top of Disney+. Two days after the full season landed, Tim Federle’s witch drama was the No. 1 TV show on Disney+ in 63 countries on October 4, including the United States, and it held all 63 spots again on October 5.
The series premiered October 1 on Freeform as part of 31 Nights of Halloween, and every chapter arrived on Disney+ and Hulu the next day. By October 3 it was leading the Disney+ TV chart in seven countries, including Australia. One day later, that number had grown to 63, with Canada and Germany among the new markets putting it at No. 1. The first season runs 21 chapters, each between 10 and 22 minutes long.
Critics Are On Board Too
The reviews have been kind. The first season holds a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes from seven reviews as of October 5. Variety’s Aramide Tinubu called it “intriguing and heartfelt, with sinister elements,” and said the cast and story are strong enough to keep viewers clicking into the next chapter.
Her biggest knock was the format. She argued the season could easily have been cut into seven 45-minute episodes instead of 21 bite-sized pieces, and that rolling credits after only 10 minutes of action keeps pulling viewers out of the story.
What Coven Academy Is About
Spoiler warning: the next two paragraphs cover the setup of the first few chapters. Skip ahead if you want to go in cold.
The series comes from Federle, the creator of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, and was originally intended for Disney Channel before it landed on Freeform. Malina Weissman plays Briar Roberts, a grieving teenager sent from Brooklyn to Crescent Veil Academy in New Orleans after her mother’s death. She arrives believing it is a school for troubled girls, then learns she is a witch.
Briar slowly finds her footing with Tegan (Ora Duplass), who can shift time, and Sasha (Jordan Leftwich), an empath who can tell Briar is keeping secrets and keeps her distance at first. She is also drawn to Jake (Malachi Barton), a confident warlock who is already unusually good at magic, and Ollie (Louis Thresher), who has troubles of his own. Tiffani Thiessen plays Miss Graves, the head of the school, who promises Briar answers about her mother, just not yet. Devon Sawa plays Mr. Cole, a warlock professor.
Where To Start
Anyone curious before committing can watch the first chapter free on YouTube, and the rest of the season is streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. Disney has not announced a second season yet.
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