(Photo by Lucasfilm Ltd.)
The Best Witch TV Shows (And the Worst)
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and caldron bubble.
– the Weird Sisters of Macbeth
Shakespeare’s Macbeth had a witch problem — or three. Four if you also count Hecate getting in his business. But tales of witches go back much earlier than Shakespeare’s famous tragedy from the early 1600s. Belief in witchcraft practitioners is even noted in the Old Testament and Homer’s Odyssey.
Whether they’re working for the Dark Side like the Great Mothers of Peridia from Star Wars: Ahsoka, are well-meaning witches like WandaVision’s Scarlet Witch, or are completely new to the whole incantation thing like Rowan in Mayfair Witches, witches and warlocks can add an intriguing dimension to a story. Anything seems possible with magic — or “magick” if you prefer — even the possible triumph of the minions of the dark, which is what makes witches so scary.
We’ve gathered TV and streaming series where conjuration, spells, and potions take center stage and ranked them by Tomatometer. The selection also includes a few teen witches, the Charmed sisters (twice over), and even nose-twitching suburban housewives.
Not every show on this list is specifically about witches, but they all contain major characters who would be suspect in 17th century Salem, Massachusetts. The list of supporting-character witches includes the powerful wife of time-traveling Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow, Red Priestess Melisandre in Game of Thrones, and Nightcomer leader Evelyn Poole on Penny Dreadful. Nor is this list gender-specific, as it also includes the titular warlock in Constantine. And yeah, The Vampire Diaries was mainly about blood-sucking supernatural creatures, but witches played a major role on that series (and an even bigger one on spinoff, The Originals).
Before you curse us, note that this isn’t a ranking of the witches themselves, but rather a ranking of the series on which they appear by their series-level Tomatometer score. Below the scored series, shows without Tomatometer scores are listed by Audience Score (denoted by “A” and its rank; see Audience Scores on the series’ pages), then those without any scores are listed alphabetically.
#1
Synopsis: When Belgrave University student Jack Morton joins a fabled secret society, the Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose, he is
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#2
Synopsis: Self-assured teenager Luz stumbles upon a portal to a magical realm where she befriends Eda, a rebellious witch and King,
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#3
Synopsis: Morticia and Gomez Addams head a perplexingly macabre family whose members include a giant named Lurch, who acts as doorman,
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#4
Synopsis: Ash is baaaack! Bruce Campbell reprises his "Evil Dead" film role as heroic, chainsaw-handed monster fighter Ash Williams, now an
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#5
Synopsis: This haunting series follows the thrilling yet terrifying journeys of Sam and Dean Winchester, two brothers who face an increasingly
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#6
Synopsis: Caught between two warring clans, the son of a notorious witch responsible for a deadly massacre tries to find his
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#7
Synopsis: Living idealized suburban lives, super-powered beings Wanda and Vision begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.
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#8
Synopsis: Quentin Coldwater, a grad student at Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy, has been fascinated by the magical fantasy world since
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#9
Synopsis: Many people are familiar with classic literary characters like Dr. Frankenstein and Dorian Gray. "Penny Dreadful" brings those and other
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#10
Synopsis: Portland detective Nick Burkhardt, descended from a long line of warriors known as Grimms, defends his city from magical creatures
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#11
Synopsis: George R.R. Martin's best-selling book series "A Song of Ice and Fire" is brought to the screen as HBO sinks
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#12
Synopsis: Former Jedi knight Ahsoka Tano investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy.
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#13
Synopsis: "A Discovery of Witches" is a fantasy series based on the similarly-named novel of the "All Souls" trilogy, written by
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#14
Synopsis: An archivist takes a job restoring damaged videotapes and gets pulled into a mystery involving the missing director and a
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#15
Synopsis: Leaving his true love, Buffy, behind in Sunnydale, the vampire Angel tries to get a fresh start in Los Angeles.
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#16
Synopsis: This supernatural drama, based on the series of novels by L.J. Smith, details the lives of two brothers, Damon and
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#17
Synopsis: At a manor with a mysterious history, eight members of the Midnight Club meet each night at midnight to tell
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#18
Synopsis: Sarah Michelle Gellar takes on the role of Buffy Summers in this TV version of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," based
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#19
Synopsis: This action-packed fantasy-drama revisits the saga of King Arthur and his wizard, Merlin, by focusing on the two characters when
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#20
Critics Consensus: A noteworthy ensemble cast combined with creepy storytelling and campy, outrageous thrills make American Horror Story: Coven a potently structured fright-fest.
#21
Synopsis: During her search for a kidnapped friend, a seemingly ordinary but brave young woman from another world uncovers a sinister
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#22
Synopsis: Moiraine, a member of a magical organization, takes five young people on a journey, believing that one of them might
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#23
Synopsis: Klaus, the original vampire/werewolf hybrid, returns to New Orleans -- which his family helped build -- to investigate rumors of
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#24
Synopsis: This adaptation of the "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" tale is a dark coming-of-age story that traffics in horror and the
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#25
Synopsis: As the wife of an ailing but very wealthy town selectman, Mary Sibley holds the distinction of being the most
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#26
Synopsis: The witcher Geralt, a mutated monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world in which people often prove
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#27
Critics Consensus: Ryan Murphy and his murderers' row of witchy performers literally save the world -- and franchise -- in Apocalypse, the series most ambitious crossover swing yet.
#28
Synopsis: "Once Upon a Time" tells the story of a new world, one in which fairy-tale legends and modern life collide.
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#29
Synopsis: Adventurer James Keziah Delaney, long believed to be dead, returns home to London from Africa in 1814 in order to
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#30
Synopsis: On her birthday, Clary Fray discovers a surprise concerning her life. The teenager is not who she thinks she is
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#31
Synopsis: When Ichabod Crane wakes up 250 years in the future, he must solve a mystery dating back to the founding
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#32
Synopsis: While attending Nevermore Academy, Wednesday Addams attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a killing spree and solve the
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#33
Synopsis: Demon hunter and master of the occult John Constantine figured there was no longer any point in fighting the good
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#34
Synopsis: Small-town Louisiana waitress Sookie Stackhouse already is viewed as an oddball by her friends and neighbors, since she can read
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#35
Synopsis: In a retelling of the Arthurian legend, teenage sorceress Nimue joins forces with a young and charming mercenary named Arthur
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#36
Synopsis: The mysterious Beauchamp family lives in the secluded seaside town of East End. Free-spirited artist Joanna Beauchamp is the mother
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#37
Synopsis: Based on Charlaine Harris' book series by the same name, "Midnight, Texas" follows the lives of the strange inhabitants of
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#38
Synopsis: The Monahan family abandons Chicago to settle into a private mountain community, The Gates, where father Nick becomes the new
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#39
Synopsis: When a modern-day groundskeeper opens the Collins family crypt during a treasure hunt, Barnabas Collins, the 200-year-old family vampire, emerges
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#40
Synopsis: A growing population of mythological immigrant creatures struggles to coexist with humans after the creatures' exotic homelands are invaded by
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#41
Synopsis: After her mother dies in a fire, Cassie Blake (Britt Robertson) goes to live with her grandmother in Chance Harbor,
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#42
Synopsis: Fairies attend a magical boarding school in the Otherworld, where they must learn to master their magical powers while navigating
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#43
Synopsis: Neurosurgeon Rowan Fielding has a problem. When she gets mad, she kills with her mind. Her search for answers sends
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#44
Synopsis: Carmen is a 19-year-old who is a slave and a witch. She has fallen for a white man, which is
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#45
Synopsis: When a tornado transports Dorothy Gale from Lucas, Kan., to the faraway land of Oz, her arrival sets in motion
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#46
Synopsis: Based on the popular film "The Witches of Eastwick" and the novel of the same name by John Updike, "Eastwick"
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#47
Synopsis: Set more than a thousand years before the world of "The Witcher," seven outcasts in the elf world unite in
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#48
Synopsis: Monster hunters Fred and Deloris Allen tangle with evil -- and family drama with their teenage twins; based on the
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#A1
Synopsis: A vampire returns to his family mansion in Collinsport, Maine.
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#A2
Synopsis: Three young witches with basic training in combat magic prepare to defend the country against looming terrorist threats by using
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#A3
Synopsis: Alex Russo and her brothers Justin and Max come from a long line of wizards and now must master their
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#A4
Synopsis: A group of sisters discover they are witches. Luckily for the world, they're of the good variety. Banding together in
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#A5
Synopsis: Catherine Bell reprises her role of Cassie Nightingale in this series based on "The Good Witch" franchise of made-for-TV movies.
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#A6
Synopsis: Mildred Hubble, a normal girl from a world outside of magic, finds herself at Miss Cackle's Academy for witches.
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#A7
Synopsis: The town of Mystic Falls has a new generation of protectors in this spin-off of "The Vampire Diaries" and "The
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#A8
Synopsis: Elena Michaels is a loner in a world she never wanted to be part of. The only female werewolf in
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#A9
Synopsis: When Cece Parker Jones, a vivacious 15 year old relocates from a small town in the US to France to
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#A10
Synopsis: Sabrina Spellman is a teenager with magical powers who comes from a long line of witches. Until going away to
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#A11
Synopsis: Mel and Maggie Vera suffer a shock when their mother dies suddenly, but before they have time to heal from
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#A12
Synopsis: Samantha falls in love with New York ad exec Darrin Stephens and marries him in the first episode of the
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Synopsis: Emma Alonso is a seemingly normal teenager who likes glitter and tulips and believes that smiles are contagious. But her
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Synopsis: Students at a remote British boarding school face the supernatural.
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Synopsis: A host of famous faces take a closer look at the individuals, places and pivotal moments that ignited their passion
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Synopsis: A witch who uses her powers to aide the uncertainty of adolescence.
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Synopsis: On her 12th birthday, Willa Ward receives a gift that unlocks a world of witchcraft, talking animals and so much
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Synopsis: Andi becomes Guardian to students at WITS Academy, the magic realm's most esteemed school for witches- and wizards-in-training, in this
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