The showrunners of the series The Mayfair witches they talked about the changes made since the first book of the saga written by Anne Rice.
Esta Spalding and Michelle Ashford, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, shared some details of the work done on the story present in the book, consisting of 1000 pages.
Spalding recalled:
We had eight episodes for a 1000 page book. It is an absolute cornucopia of deliciousness and we had to make tough choices.
In the series, for example, there is a character called Ciprien Grieve, played by Tongayi Chirisa, conceived as a combination of agent Aaron Lightner and Michael Curry, who in the novel wins Rowan’s sentimental attention. Spalding explained:
In a story that’s eight installments and where you have to develop a story, we really wanted Rowan to have goals. And we debated long and hard about whether or not to call the character Michael, because the character has so many characteristics of Michael Curry.
Ashford added:
And we obviously didn’t want to call him Aaron. So it seemed, oddly enough, that the more respectful way to proceed was to merge the two characters into one original character.
Among the changes also the physical appearance of Rowan, blonde between the pages and brunette in the series played by Alexandra Daddario.
Another change is that relating to the relationship between Cortland Mayfair (Harry Hamlin) and Carlotta Mayfair (Beth Grant) who, on the small screen, are brother and sister unlike the novels in which they are separated by a generation.
Ashford pointed out:
You say brother and sister and immediately the audience has a visceral reaction. The notion that Anne created this family that was so complicated and so distant and twisted and incestuous in so many ways was our job to make sure there was as much dramatic weight as possible.
Spalding added:
And the primordial relationship that exists between brothers, rivalries, jealousies and so on. We’re trying to find ways to make these connections between characters.
What do you think? Are you curious to find out the differences between the novel The Mayfair Witches and the TV series?
Source: Comic Book