Tonight, the third episode of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches premiered on AMC. In the episode, when Ciprien Grieve (Tongayi Chirisa) brings Rowan Fielding (Alexandra Daddario) to his place to help her understand some of what’s going on, he also reveals more about his own character when he talks aabout his powers of seeing the past via touch.

Ciprien is actually based on two different characters in Rice’s series of novels that showrunner Esta Spalding combined into one. “What I appreciate about what [she] did was that she pretty much took the the richness of both characters,” Chirisa told explained to SciFi Vision during a recent interview. “Michael [Curry] with his abilities, with his gift, Aaron [Lightner], obviously from the Talamasca and his dress sense, just pretty much that was the foundation to say, ‘Hey, this is what it is, but I want you to build off of that.’ So, with that springboard, it allowed me to just kind of really delve into how I saw this character. We had conversations with Esta about what [they’re] looking for in this world, because she was like, ‘Look, don't get too married to the material that you see, because we want something that's unique and different, paying homage to where it starts, the foundation.’ So, because of that, it allowed us to really explore, and that, for me, is the fun part of figuring out where we're going.

Recently, Britbox premiered the three-part drama, Stonehouse. The series is based on the almost unbelievable life of MP John Stonehouse (Matthew Macfadyen). Seemingly a devoted father and husband with a perfect life, he started spiraling out of control when he was accused of fraud and espionage, which culminated in him faking his own death. The series also stars Keeley Hawes as Stonehouse’s wife Barbara and Emer Heatley as his secretary Sheila Buckley.

Writer of the series, John Preston, was somewhat familiar with the story from the beginning, as he lived through it, but at the time it didn’t make a big impression. “There was a lot about the story that I didn't know,” Preston revealed to SciFi Vision during a recent press junket. “But for me, having been brought up to believe that our rulers tended to behave in a kind of level headed and dignified way, it was the first inkling that I had that that might not necessarily be the case. So, it was a kind of eye opener for me. But it was really not until I went back and started researching it, that I realized just how rich a story it was.”

Based on the best-selling trilogy, Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches premiered last week on AMC. The series follows Rowan Fielding (Alexandria Daddario), a neurosurgeon who discovers that she comes from a family of powerful witches.

Annabeth Gish plays the role of Deidre Mayfair, Rowan’s biological mother. The actress was very familiar with the book series, having read them when they first were released. “I just was so fascinated and intrigued by this particular world of Anne Rice in The Witching Hour, that I even wanted to option it to play Rowan,” the actress told SciFi Vision during a recent interview. “…It was mystical and ethereal, but also [had] female empowerment and intellect. So, it had all of these elements that I was fascinated by and still am.”

The role came with a lot of physical challenges, as for a lot of it, Deidre is catatonic and confined to a wheelchair. Gish also had to wear contacts that were hard to see through.  

When it came to what she connected to with the character, it was the fact that Deirdre, like Gish, is a mother. “At the beginning, she is a victim, but then she's reawakened with her power through a monstrous force,” she explained. “So, yes, there are lots of things to get through with Deirdre, but the goal of seeking her daughter and the empowerment of finding Rowan is the motivating factor, and as a mother, I certainly can relate to that.”

Friday, the second and final season of Hunters premiered on Prime Video. On the series, Greg Austin plays the villain Travis Leich. As part of the show, the character commits many heinous acts. The actor talked to SciFi Vision during a recent interview about connecting with and getting into the dark side of the character. One of the ways for him is music. “I've been listening to a lot of heavy metal, metal core, rhythmic technical guitars, screaming stuff over the pandemic, very angsty, clearly,” Austin told the site. “Going onto set, stepping from who I am as a person, putting the mask on and becoming Travis, that's a real good hook for me, finding something that embodies the emotion that evokes that in me, and that sort of music really does for me. It really gets me into the mindset I need for Travis.”

“But ultimately, to be able to play a role like this, you just you need to be able to empathize,” the actor added. “Even though he is a character that cannot empathize by the nature of his psychopathy, I as an actor must be able to empathize even with the worst character, the worst human being in the world.”

Today, the second and final season of Hunters comes to Prime Video. On the series, Josh Radnor plays the character Lonny Flash, an actor and master of disguise. SciFi Vision recently caught up with the star to talk about his costumes, which are important to a character like Flash. “I think a lot of how I found the character of Lonny was through the the costume,” revealed the actor. “Once I found the facial hair, and once I got on the outfits and the heels, it just changed my walk; it changed the way I spoke. It just changed everything and informed everything…They call him the master of disguise. Even when he's not technically in disguise, he's still wearing some sort of disguise. I mean, he's kind of peacocking through life. He loves to be looked at, he wears flashy things, very different than me in that regard, and that was all really fun to play. In the second season, his career has taken off, even though his demons have kind of got a hold of him again. So, his wardrobe is a little more upscale. He's wearing more suits and cravats and things like that, but he's still, he's still dressing to impress.”

Hunters returns today to Prime Video for the second and final season. In season two, the Hunters come together to hunt down a hiding Adolf Hitler. Meanwhile, through flashbacks, secrets are revealed about Meyer Offerman (Al Pacino)’s past.

During a recent press day, SciFi Vision spoke with creator David Weil about how far the ending veered from his initial plans. “I didn't have a clear vision in mind for the ending,” revealed Weil. “I knew sort of what I wanted, and obviously, when people watch the series, they'll see a very, I think, clear conclusion to the show. But the question of the show is really one of justice or revenge. So, one of the great sort of conflicts in writing was, what do I want to express? What is the thesis of the show, ultimately, and ultimately, to me, I think the path of justice, won out. So, you definitely see that in the ending.”

Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches premieres tonight on AMC, as the second series ordered by the network based on the author’s works, following season one of Interview with a Vampire, which recently aired. The new series follows neurosurgeon Rowan Fielding (Alexandra Daddario), who discovers that she comes from a long line of powerful witches. Ciprien Grieve, played by Tongayi Chirisa, a combination of the characters of Michael Curry and Aaron Lightner in the books, is who helps to guide Rowan through the new magical world she’s become a part of. When taking on the role of Ciprien, Chirisa knew of the films rather than the books. “I had seen Interview with the Vampire the movie with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt and Queen on the Damned with Aaliyah many, many moons ago,” the actor told SciFi Vision. “Then I got the audition and put two and two together, and I dove right in. I was like, ‘This is a wonderful opportunity to relive my moments as a teenager watching these movies.’”

Tonight, Fantasy Island finally returns to FOX for its second season. Last May, SciFi Vision spoke with stars Kiara Barnes, who plays Ruby, and John Gabriel Rodriquez, who plays Javier, about what fans could expect for their characters in season two.

“For my character, you're going to see the relationship between he and Roarke (Roselyn Sanchez) develop,” teased Rodriquez. “We ended last season on kind of a what if, and we're going to see that relationship just really grow. There's also, as a tease, a new character that comes to the island and to Javier's life, and it's extremely impactful, and it impacts all the relationships on the island.”

“For me, we pick up to see Ruby's relationship with Dr. Gina (Gabriela Z. Hernandez),” Barnes told SciFi Vision. “It's interesting, because I feel like Ruby, at the end of last season, was like, ‘I got this. Everything's figured out. I could do this super easy.’ Then, the next season starts, [and] it's whole new life lessons coming forward, and she quickly finds out that she does not have it all figured out and what the 20s really is. For her to relive this again, and being her truest self, reliving this age again, of course, it's going to be completely different than what she had previously lived.”

Today, the highly anticipated third season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan returns to Prime Video. The series stars John Krasinski in the title role. In season three, he is working as a case officer for the CIA in Rome when he gets a tip that the Sokol Project is being resurrected more than fifty years after it was thought to have been shut down, and they are trying to restore the Soviet Empire. Jack goes on a mission to confirm the truth, but is wrongly implicated in a murder conspiracy, accused of treason, and hunted, forced to flee from his own government and others.

Actresses Betty Gabriel and Nina Hoss join the cast this season as CIA Rome Station Chief Elizabeth Wright, and Alena Kovac, president of Czechia, respectively. The two talked to SciFi Vision recently about what they connected with right away with their characters, and how they prepared.

Gabriel talked about her character’s intelligence, grace, and dignity, and the pressure she is under. “She has a boss too, and that's a very interesting layer that I really can tap into,” the actress told the site.

Kindred, which drops today on Hulu, is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Octavia E. Butler. The series follows Dana James (Mallori Johnson), a young Black aspiring television writer who has moved to Los Angeles. However, after arriving in her new home, she is pulled back in time to the nineteenth century to a plantation that is linked to her and her family.

Branden Jacob-Jenkins, who serves as showrunner on the series, was a huge fan of the book. “I'm fanatically devoted to Butler and definitely this book,” he told SciFi Vision during a recent press day of interviews promoting the series. “I just wanted to see it…I wanted to watch the show, and that was really where it started. The more I worked on it, the more I kind of felt the necessity of it in this moment, and also just the necessity of drawing all the attention I can to Octavia Butler, because her vision was so profound, and her work so captivating and entertaining and inspiring. If anything, I just want to bring people back to her books.”

The series clearly deals with an important but difficult subject matter, which of course affected those filming it. “The scenes that really showed the brutality of what it meant to be an enslaved person in that time were probably some of the most difficult to film,” Johnson told the site. “The history was palpable. During the scenes I could really feel the presence of my ancestors there surrounding me. That was emotional for me, for sure.”