Salem co-creator/executive producer/writer Brannon Braga says his co-creator Adam Simon came up with the idea of focusing a series on the Salem Witch Trials while putting a different spin on the infamous events by taking the stance that witches are not only real but were running the trials. “That just really sparked something in me,” explained Braga at the 2014 WonderCon in Anaheim. “I just thought it was a great take. Not a lot had been done with Salem in this time, with Salem in the 1600s. I read The Crucible in high school – that’s about all I can tell you. I saw the Daniel Day-Lewis picture. But I’m like, ‘Nothing’s been set here.’
There are stories. I started reading the transcripts. Every trial was meticulously written about. I’m like, ‘Wow, this stuff’s horrific. I’ve never seen that before. They put a pig on trial for being a witch? That’s crazy.’ Immediately a whole world opened up that was uncharted.”
Asked if the TV series would be able to push the boundaries and put a pig on trial, Braga – who admitted that 10 years ago a period drama such as this would not have been greenlit by a network – replied, “Yeah, you can. There’s some weird stuff in this show, but a lot of it is based on things people claimed happened.”
WGN America is set to debut episode one of season one on April 20, 2014 at 10pm ET/PT starring Shane West, Janet Montgomery, Ashley Madekwe, Seth Gabel, Xander Berkeley, and Tazmin Merchant. Commenting on his cast, Braga had high praise for the entire ensemble.
“What’s astonishing about the cast is how quickly they settled into the roles, how natural they feel in the first episode. They really do feel like…so cheesy…real people. It doesn’t feel like anyone’s struggling. They just slid right into it. We’re very lucky to have this cast, especially Janet Montgomery who is wonderful as Mary Sibley.”
Check out our lengthy interview with Brannon Braga at WonderCon for more about this gritty new supernatural series which he describes as part The Exorcist, part Wuthering Heights:
The Plot of Salem:
In Salem, witches are real, but they are not who or what they seem. The show, which centers on an epic romance wrapped around this explosive revelation, delivers a bold new vision of Salem – and an even bolder new vision of witches.
Salem stars Janet Montgomery as the ruthless but vulnerable Mary Sibley, Salem’s most powerful enchantress; Shane West as handsome, hardened war veteran John Alden – and Mary’s onetime love interest; Seth Gabel as local aristocrat Cotton Mather who fans the flames of Salem’s witch hunt; Ashley Madekwe as Mary’s mysterious, carnal accomplice; Xander Berkeley as chief politician Magistrate Hale; Tamzin Merchant as the forthright Anne Hale, an artist with a perilous attraction to Alden; Elise Eberle as the mysteriously afflicted Mercy Lewis; and Iddo Goldberg as outcast Isaac Walton.
Salem explores what really fueled the town’s infamous witch trials and dares to uncover the dark, supernatural truth behind them.
