Salem is an American supernatural horror television series created by Brannon Braga and Adam Simon for WGN America. Inspired by the Salem witch trials in the 17th century, the series stars Janet Montgomery as Mary Sibley, a witch whose control over the trials is threatened by the return of her former lover, John Alden, played by Shane West.
The series premiered on April 20, 2014, as WGN America's first original scripted drama. It was filmed in Shreveport, Louisiana, on sets built to represent 17th century Massachusetts. Salem ran for three seasons and 36 episodes, ending on January 25, 2017, after it was announced during the third season that the series would conclude. Critical response to the first season was mixed, with reviewers commenting on its Gothic style, historical liberties and supernatural treatment of the Salem witch trials.
Contents
Premise
Set in 17th-century Salem, Massachusetts, Salem presents a fictionalized version of the Salem witch trials where witchcraft is real and the trials are manipulated by witches for their own purposes. The series centers on Mary Sibley, a powerful witch who has become one of the most influential figures in Salem society. Publicly, Mary is the wife of wealthy town leader George Sibley; secretly, she works to advance a plan that uses the fear and violence of the trials to summon the Devil.
Mary's plans are complicated by the return of John Alden, her former lover, who comes back to Salem after years away at war. His return forces Mary to confront her past while maintaining her control over the town. The series also follows Cotton Mather, a Puritan minister involved in the trials; Anne Hale, the daughter of a magistrate who discovers her own connection to witchcraft; Tituba, Mary's ally and servant; and Mercy Lewis, one of the afflicted girls whose accusations help fuel the hysteria.
The show combines supernatural horror, historical fantasy and Gothic romance, using people and events associated with the real Salem witch trials as the basis for a fictional story about power, religion, repression and revenge.
Cast and characters
Main
Janet Montgomery as Mary Walcott / Mary Sibley, a witch who uses her position in Salem to influence the trials
Shane West as Captain John Alden, a war veteran and Mary's former lover who returns to Salem
Seth Gabel as Cotton Mather, a Puritan minister involved in the witch trials
Tamzin Merchant as Anne Hale, the daughter of Magistrate Hale
Ashley Madekwe as Tituba, Mary's servant and ally
Elise Eberle as Mercy Lewis, one of the afflicted girls in Salem
Iddo Goldberg as Isaac Walton, a man in Salem who is branded as a fornicator
Xander Berkeley as Magistrate Hale (season 1; guest season 2), a Salem magistrate and Anne's father
Oliver Bell as John / the Devil / Samael (main seasons 2–3; guest season 1)
Joe Doyle as Baron Sebastian von Marburg (seasons 2–3)
Recurring
Michael Mulheren as George Sibley (seasons 1–2), Mary's husband
Azure Parsons as Gloriana Embry (seasons 1 and 3)
Sammi Hanratty as Dollie Trask (seasons 1–2)
Stephen Lang as Increase Mather (season 1; guest seasons 2–3), Cotton Mather's father
Lucy Lawless as Countess Palatine Ingrid Von Marburg (seasons 2–3), the head of the Marburg family
Stuart Townsend as Dr. Samuel Wainwright (season 2)
Samuel Roukin as the Sentinel / Beelzebub (season 3)
Marilyn Manson as Thomas Dinley (season 3)
Production
Development
The series first appeared as part of WGN America's development slate in July 2012, under the title Malice. On June 4, 2013, WGN America bypassed the pilot stage and placed a series order for 13 episodes, under the new title Salem. On November 8, 2013, filming of the series began in Shreveport, Louisiana, on an set built to resemble 17th-century Massachusetts. On May 5, 2014, WGN America renewed Salem for a 13-episode second season. On July 11, 2015, Salem was renewed for a 10-episode third season, with production beginning in Shreveport, Louisiana, in late 2015 with a 2016 debut. In December 2016, WGN America announced the series cancellation, with the third season concluding with the series finale on January 25, 2017.
Casting
Casting announcements began in October 2013, with Ashley Madekwe first cast in the role of Tituba. Seth Gabel was the next actor cast, in the regular role of Cotton Mather. Janet Montgomery and Xander Berkeley were cast in the lead role of Mary Sibley and the role of Magistrate Hale, respectively. Shane West signed onto the series in the regular role of John Alden, as did Tamzin Merchant as Anne Hale. Elise Eberle was later cast in the series regular role of Mercy Lewis. In the episode "Our Own Private America", which originally aired on June 1, 2014, Stephen Lang joined the cast in the recurring role of Increase Mather.
For the second season, Lucy Lawless and Stuart Townsend joined Salem in the recurring roles of Countess Marburg and Samuel Wainwright, respectively, while Joe Doyle and Oliver Bell joined the regular cast as Baron Sebastian Marburg and Mary's lost son, respectively. During the third season, singer Marilyn Manson joined the cast in a recurring role as barber and all-around problem solver Thomas Dinley.
Music
The majority of Salem's score was composed by Tyler Bates. Bates selected "Cupid Carries a Gun", a song he co-wrote with Marilyn Manson and recorded by the band for their album The Pale Emperor, as the show's title track.
Home media
The first season was released on DVD in the United States on October 28, 2014, by Fox Home Entertainment. The second season was released on DVD on April 5, 2016, and is manufactured by Amazon's CreateSpace MOD Program. As of November 2023, the third season has not been commercially released on DVD or Blu-ray in the United States. It was released on DVD in the United Kingdom and Australia, and the complete series was released in a boxed set in Australia.
Reception
Critical reception
Salem scored 49 out of 100 based on 16 critic reviews on Metacritic, which the site characterizes as "mixed or average reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season scored 54% and an average rating of 5.5 out of 10 based on 26 critic reviews. The critical consensus reads: "While the horror scenes are well-executed, Salem lacks enough substance to sustain even a guilty-pleasure interest." Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times, upon reviewing the first season, said the show is "brash and well executed... perversely entertaining". He went on to say that "when Salem isn't being deliberately outrageous, it's cultivating a dynamic that could be fruitful as things move along. Here in the 21st century, science and reason rule, but in a world of sorcery, clinging to rationality just makes you stupid." Mark Dawidziak of The Plain Dealer gave the first few episodes a positive review, saying "Slowly drawing you into its heightened version of that Puritan community, Salem casts its spell with an opening episode that is a witch's brew of romance, fear, deceit, revenge, hysteria, evil and uncertainty." Zack Handlin of The A.V. Club called the series "a collection of shallow stock characters and ramshackle plotting" that attempts tacky exploitation of a tragedy. Brian Lowry wrote in Variety that although the series is not bad, it "plays like a rather flat supernatural soap".
Ratings
The series premiere rose to 3.4 million viewers in Live+7 ratings, and had more than 1.5 million viewers in adults 18–49. The season two premiere rose 150% in adults 18–49 in Live+7 ratings, from 0.2 to 0.5, while it rose to 1.5 million viewers in Live+3. The second episode rose 300% from 0.1 to 0.4.