Warning: This article contains spoilers for “Coven Academy” Season 1.
“Every generation deserves their own witch show,” multi-hyphenate Tim Federle told TheWrap as October kicked off this week. Federle, who grew up on supernatural shows and movies like “Charmed” and “The Craft,” is now ready to give Gen Alpha its own addition to the genre with “Coven Academy.”
Set in the spellbinding city of New Orleans, “Coven Academy” follows three teenage witches – in addition to their dashing warlock peers – as they face “deadly secrets, dangerous power and forbidden love while ancient forces threaten their [home],” per a logline from Disney+.
And while these themes may seem familiar to fans of this ever-popular genre, Federle and Disney+ are offering up a fast-paced story ready to cast a spell on its YA audience. Specifically, for its first season, “Coven Academy” is enchanting audiences with 21 chapters, running 10 to 15 minutes a piece.
“It’s hard to break through with an original piece of anything, even if it’s nostalgic and [it] very much probably has echoes of those things. Right?” Federle, who is known for creating the landmark title “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” for Disney+, said. “It’s kind of one part ‘Harry Potter,’ one part ‘Wednesday,’ one part ‘Charmed.’ So I think [it’s] taking a swing, trying a new format, with frankly kind of a similar budget and ambition level.”
He added: “Like, the secret here is we have 21 chapters. But, the reality is we shot 10 episodes and we kind of chopped them up.”
Though the episode release strategy may differ from what older fans are used to, Federle noted that the show will still resonate with that demographic, as it’s straight “out of the WB, CW soapy playbook.” The addition of Tiffani Thiessen and Devon Sawa to the cast certainly doesn’t hurt, either.
For more of Federle’s insights into conjuring up “Coven Academy,” including landing Olivia Rodrigo’s needle drop in Episode 1 and his vision for a possible second season, keep reading. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
TheWrap: Let’s talk a little bit about “Coven Academy” being an original concept! It’s not based on a book or pre-existing IP. So what was the inspiration for this show and how are we adding to an already full genre?
Tim Federle: Every generation deserves their own witch show. I definitely grew up with “Charmed,” “The Craft,” loved “Hocus Pocus” every Halloween. And I saw a bit of a white space in the sense that there are certainly among our competitors lots of great YA offerings right now, especially in the sort of like grounded love triangly, beautiful people on a summer destination that that is like very well taken care of.
[And then], I was talking to Ayo Davis, who runs this division, a couple summers ago. It’s like, gosh, there’s such a genre play in that sort of old-school, WB “Charmed” way that maybe there’s a space for the company – the Disney-Hulu synergy … Maybe this is like, a sweet spot where you have grown up with the company and you’re not quite the kid anymore. And so, I saw an opportunity to tell these kinds of stories because I just think magic is a really fun lane.
I also really do want to touch on the speed at which this show is moving and I think kind of telling on the way Gen Z and Gen Alpha are kind of digesting media now. Can you give insight into why we decided these “chapter” episodes was the best format for “Coven Academy”?
I think it’s two things. I think the first is: It’s hard to break through with an original piece of anything, even if it’s nostalgic and [it] very much probably has echoes of those things. Right? It’s kind of one part “Harry Potter,” one part “Wednesday,” one part “Charmed.” So I think [it’s] taking a swing, trying a new format, with frankly kind of a similar budget and ambition level. Like, the secret here is we have 21 chapters, right? The reality is we shot 10 episodes and we kind of chopped them up.
We looked at it and said, where are the big cliffhanger-y moments where you’re just going like, “Oh my god, I need to watch the next one.” So, so some of it was just inspired by let’s try something because it is hard to break through these days, as you know.
And the second part?
The second part maybe had less to do with attention spans, because I happen to think Gen Z, Gen Alpha, they are on TikTok for one thing, YouTube for another. They’re on Instagram for something else, and they’re watching something on a phone or tablet or TV or with their parents for another reason. And so, I’m actually not trying to recreate the swipe, tune out experience. When they go deep, they go deep. But it definitely felt like a fun way to say what if we just tried something new.
Like, in the streaming era, everybody’s doing eight episodes, and what if we did more episodes, more cliffhangers, more propulsion, but still tried to give some of those deep character moments of characters connecting, questioning – and try to jam all that in in season one. Does it work? You know, I think the audience is going to tell us. And I think there’s actually ample opportunity … between you and me and the readers of TheWrap, there’s so many ways to do this. There’s a version where we go to traditional half hour [episodes] in Season 2, or even 45 minute episodes. There’s so many ways to tell stories these days … So I think we’re just taking some swings and seeing if the bat connects with some balls.
Are we anticipating that “Coven Academy” is a show for families? Or are we anticipating that the viewing experience is strictly a YA audience?
You know, it’s amazing. I felt very lucky when we tested this … you get the rough cut, the studio reviews it and you test it. And we were really excited by the younger sort of tween audience identified this as like, “Oh, this is clearly for me.” Teenage audience, 15-17-year-old, girls on the cusp of like adulthood said, “This is for me. This is what my friends and I are going through.” … And then we got a fair amount of sort of Gen X viewers, who said, “Oh my God, Tiffani Thiessen, Devon Sawa, like I want to watch this with my daughter, my niece. This feels like a family TV night where nothing is offensive or so dark or so gritty or so bloody or so murdery that you’re going to have nightmares.”
So, I think we’re straddling a bit, and we’re figuring it out. You know, the show was originally greenlit on a Disney Channel slate, and fairly quickly we realized we want to swing for something different. Different does not mean better. It just is a slightly like deeper, different experience. And so we ended up on Freeform, and ultimately, you know, we will end up wherever these viewers sort of consume the show – whether it’s on their phones, on a TV, on an iPad.
Okay, but we do have to talk about landing Tiffani Thiessen and Devon Sawa on the cast. I mean, such iconic legends. What was it like mixing these veterans with this batch of newcomers?
You know, the adult characters were not as prominent when I wrote the pilot. And I took a step back and I looked at the landscape and I thought about Skeet Ulrich on “Riverdale” … I have a real appreciation for like strong adult B stories in shows that span hopefully generational audiences. And so, it became pretty clear and quickly that we wanted to wink [to that], because the show is so out of the WB, CW soapy playbook. It felt pretty clear from the beginning that was the type of talent we wanted to go to.
It was important to me to identify relevant, fresh, dynamic at the top of their game actors who I also want to leave in a cast holding tent for 10 hours with their fellow cast members because I’m a big believer in mentorship. The future is the examples we set for these young people.
I do want to talk about your first Disney show, “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.” What did you learn from that show that later informed decisions for “Coven Academy”?
You know, the first thing is ironic. Because, for a show that moves so quickly, it’s like trust that the relationships don’t have to go through 50 changes. That you can land in a place and stay in that place. And so, I would say if “Coven” is lucky enough to have future seasons, slow burn for everything is important. I think having an awareness of what breaks through for fans, but not listening as if they are fellow writers, especially genre fan bases. I understand there’s going to be passion and hot takes. I already have gotten word that people are already shipping couples, and the show has not dropped yet. And I have a great appreciation. It like touches me deeply as a storyteller that people care that much. But in a way, that’s not my business. Like, the fan reaction is their business, and if there’s something I really need to be aware of, it’ll come to my attention.
Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring up the Olivia Rodrigo needle drop a minute into the first episode. Obviously, you have had a working relationship before. But what is that like now? Is that like a text saying, “Hey, I’m thinking of a song…”
I texted Olivia when we were shooting the pilot, and I said, “I’ve got a new show, and I’m creating a playlist for the cast.” And it turns out when I started making a playlist of their characters and my vision for the sound of the show, what I want the show to feel like the playlist is like nine Olivia Rodrigo songs and one Gwen Stefani, and she texted right back and it was so sweet. And I mean, it’s really surreal and I’m really proud of her. And also while I was there, you know, pretty early in what became her stratospheric music career, I don’t necessarily believe in magic or fate, but I do believe we’re all on like a journey and a path that if you have gatekeepers who can help lift the gate, you can maybe get there a bit faster and without some of the red tape … And it was always going to be Olivia at the top of the show. It is in my script. It literally says “needle drop, Olivia Rodrigo.”
Now, I do wonder, if “Coven Academy” gets a Season 2, what do you envision?
I mean, I’m dying to see what happens with Jake and Briar next. I’m dying to see, you know, where is Ollie going, and what will happen when he comes back? You know, Sasha has such a deep story with her brother, who is a newly turned vampire, and that’s really deep. And, you know, her powerful parents she has to reconcile with that. She also – though she turned it down – has this really cool offer to go overseas. I think there’s something international that’s interesting. Certainly Tegan and McKenna are a story that I really am interested in exploring and understanding. Miss Graves has a lot to reconcile with now that her birth daughter recognizes she ostensibly gave her away. And then [there’s] Mr. Cole, who’s come back [after this] wacky journey he was sent on, I’d be curious now to see how he resets that relationship with Jake.
You know, you asked me earlier, is there something about “High School Musical” [that taught] me something? I don’t regret a single guest star or a single cast edition. I don’t. I love those kids, and I love what I learned on that show. But I really believe in this “Coven Academy” cast, and I want to keep investing in stories for them … without being like Season 2 of “Coven Academy” [here are] six new characters. I think that can really split the audience and confuse people. And I believe in every one of these actors.
“Coven Academy” is available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu. The show will also air on Freeform as part of its 31 Nights of Halloween schedule, which you can find here.
