Imagine a dystopian future where witches become soldiers.

That’s pretty much the basis of Eliot Laurence’s alternate history dystopian drama Motherland: Fort Salem, which premiered on March 18 on Freeform. The 10-episode drama is halfway through airing on Freeform.

Motherland: Fort Salem

Official Summary

Set in an alternate America where witches ended their persecution by cutting a deal with the government to fight for the country, Motherland: Fort Salem follows three young women from training to deployment, as they fight terrorist threats with supernatural tactics.

Trailer

Cast

Taylor Hickson as Raelle Collar

Amalia Holm as Scylla

Demetria McKinney as Anacostia

Jessica Sutton as Tally Craven

Ashley Nicole Williams as Abigail Bellweather

Lyne Renee as General Adler

B.J. Harrison as The Biddy

South By Southwest (SXSW) Cancellation

Due to coronavirus concerns, the City of Austin canceled this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) on March 6. Motherland: Fort Salem would have premiered just a few days at the festival prior to the series premiere on Freeform.

Learn More About The Show From Creator & Executive Producer, Eliot Laurence:

What was your intention when you came up with the idea for Motherland: Fort Salem?

I wanted a new take on witches and will never forget the lightning strike/ peanut butter and jelly moment when the military component came in.  I just went with the what-ifs and the if-thens and let them carry me.

What kind of message do you hope that it will portray?

Female empowerment and inclusion… and that our strength lies in our differences.

How did you go about choosing who you wanted to cast in your show? 

It was about finding young women who just had the DNA.

For Tally, it was curiosity, kindness, honesty. [And] for Abigail, we needed confidence, breeding, sex appeal. For Raelle, we were looking for the sense of having been though a lot. For Scylla, it was intelligence and humanity. Alder needed majesty and gravity, and Anacostia needed that military realness factor… we lucked out!

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Featured image credit: Freeform