AMC's Mayfair Witches is based on which Anne Rice novel? Explained

After winning fans' hearts with its Interview with the Vampire series, AMC launched the show, Mayfair Witches. With shows like these, AMC has revived the audience's interest in the Gothic horror genre.

These shows have been notably adapted from Anne Rice's novels. While Interview with the Vampire has been adapted from Rice's The Vampire Chronicles, it is named after the first novel from the novel series.

Similarly, the series Mayfair Witches is based on Rice's novel trilogy Lives of the Mayfair Witches. The first season is based on the first novel The Witching Hour the second season is based on the second novel Lasher. While the first one premiered in January 2023, the second one began airing on January 5, 2025.

However, the show is not a completely faithful adaptation of Rice's novels. This has landed it in the fire with devoted fans of the books. Keep reading to find out how different are the books from the show and whether the deviation was necessary.

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How is AMC's Mayfair Witches different from Anne Rice's novels?

Mayfair Witches follows an intuitive neurosurgeon named Dr. Rowan Fielding (Alexandra Daddario) as she learns that she is the heiress of a dynasty of witches. She moves from San Francisco to New Orleans where she begins meeting her newfound family in person.

Season 1 has several big differences from Anne Rice's novel The Witching Hour. To begin with, Rowan has platinum blonde hair and grey eyes in the novel. In the show, Daddario is a brunette with blue eyes. This difference in physical appearance is harmless so it can be ignored.

Further, two characters from the novel Michael Curry, Rowan's love interest, and Aaron Lightner, a father figure to Rowan are combined into Ciprien Grieve, a single character in the show. Mixing up a love interest with a father figure affected the story.

Cortland and Carlotta Mayfair have a generation gap in the book. In the show, however, they are shown to be siblings. Moreover, Carlotta is portrayed as more of a villain than she is in Rice's depiction of the character.

There are numerous other such differences in season 2 as well and this has sparked discussions across the internet.

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Jen Richards believes it was necessary to make some of the changes in Mayfair Witches season 2

Jen Richards as Jojo Mayfair in from Mayfair Witches (Image via Instagram/smartas*jen)

Screen adaptations of even some of the most esteemed literary works tend to deviate from the source material. This is often because it is not possible to fit every detail or plotline from the novels into the series or movie. Such decisions are double-edged swords for the reception of the adaptations.

In an interview with CinemaBlend dated February 12, 2025, actress Jen Richards who plays Cortland Mayfair's daughter Jojo Mayfair, reflected on these differences in Mayfair Witches season 2. As an ardent fan of Rice's books, she said:

"..I don't know if you've read Lasher, the second book in the Mayfair Chronicles, but it's basically unadaptable. There's no way that you could do what they do in that book on screen in today's age. It's just too dark and too twisted for contemporary TV audiences."

One major plotline in Lasher involving the titular character, a shape-shifting entity that has been bound to the witches for centuries, is quite disturbing. It depicts Lasher impregnating Rowan and other Mayfair women through inbreeding and exploitation. It is plotlines like these that made the creators take a lot of creative liberty with the show.

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Mayfair Witches is available for streaming on AMC+ through AppleTV and Prime Video Channels.