“Salem” is back for season 2, premiering Sunday, April 5th on WGN America.
From creators Brannon Braga and Adam Simon, the drama re-imagines the 17th century witch trials in Colonial Massachusetts. The show is shot entirely on location in Shreveport, Louisiana. News 8 was invited back to the set to get a preview of who lives, who dies and what becomes of Salem.
The season opens with an all-out witch war, pitting one against another in an epic battle for control of Salem.
"We are upping the stakes for everyone," co-creator Adam Simon explained. "For all the characters. And the viewers. Showing them things they have never seen before or thought they never would see."
Simon said the inspiration came from his own nightmares.
"You can't scare other people if you can't scare yourself," he said.
The storyline is guaranteed to keep fans of the show guessing, but the actors are just as much in the dark about what happens next. John Alden, played by Shane West, was left for dead, and Mary Sibley, played by Janet Montgomery, has completed the Grand Rite, unleashing a deadly plague on the town.
"We know it's a witch war," explained actor Seth Gabel, who plays Cotton Mather. "And everyone has the plague. The pox has hit the fan."
Mather is haunted by guilt, trying to right the wrongs of last season. He along with everyone else is fighting for survival, especially as a new villain arrives in town, Countess Marburg, played by Lucy Lawless, best known for her role as Xena: Warrior Princess.
"The Countess is less afraid of people seeing who she is, where Mary has this whole double life as Puritan and witch," Montgomery explained.
Mary fights off new challenges and faces new distractions, with a new love interest.
"It's very sexy," said Lawless. "Mary gets busy."
The Witch War, Season 2, begins April 5th on WGNA. Catch up with Season 1 now on Netflix.
Web exclusive interview clips with the cast of "Salem"
Janet Montgomery gets candid about her new love interest
Seth Gabel on his "high maintenance" beard
"Salem" co-creators on the show's Netflix debut
