Development for the series started in March 2025 at Disney Channel, who originally ordered the project. It later moved to Freeform in August 2026. Filming took place in Vancouver, Canada.
The series premiered on October 1, 2026, on Freeform as part of the channel's 31 Nights of Halloween, while the full season was released the next day on Disney+ and Hulu with the episodes edited and split into a short-form format. It was renewed for a second season in October 2026.
Premise
Set in New Orleans, Coven Academy follows three teenage witches-in-training and their warlock peers at an elite boarding school for magic. As they navigate supernatural conflicts, secrets, and forbidden romances, they must decide how far they are willing to go to protect their city and themselves.
Cast
Main
Malina Weissman as Briar Roberts, a young girl from Brooklyn with highly advanced telekinetic abilities who is sent to live and study at Coven Academy in New Orleans. Although hot-headed and stubborn, she is fiercely loyal and brave, readily embracing her new life as a witch and her new coven while searching for answers about her mother, Mary's, murder. At the conclusion of the finale, she is shocked and horrified to learn that even though Mary raised her, Miss Graves is her actual birth-mother.
Malachi Barton as Jake Dawson, a rebellious and flirtatious warlock and one of Briar's love interests.
Jordan Leftwich as Sasha Baptiste, a dedicated and passionate witch with empathic and mind-manipulation powers and one of Briar's best friends and coven sisters. Principled and hardworking, she abhors being lied to and butts heads with Briar at first, but the two develop a harmony with one another. She almost transfers to the prestigious Coven Academy in Italy, but decides against it to remain with her coven.
Ora Duplass as Tegan Kimball, a naïve but bubbly and good-natured witch with impressive time-bending powers and one of Briar's coven sisters. She is neurodivergent and has ADHD. She develops an instant rapport with Briar, helps her assimilate into Coven Academy and quickly becomes one of Briar's best friends.
Louis Thresher as Ollie, a handsome but insecure vampire and one of Briar's love interests.
Tiffani Thiessen as Miss Emma Graves, the firm but fair Headmistress of Coven Academy and former coven member of Mary Roberts and Tamora. A star pupil of Coven Academy in the 1990s, Emma is an extremely powerful and gifted witch, and a dedicated instructor and guardian of the students under her care. She has an unusual bond with Briar and is committed to ensuring that Briar remains at Coven Academy, even if that means giving Briar and her coven sisters scaled-down punishments for infractions. Her desire to keep Briar close is clarified at the conclusion of the finale when it is revealed that Emma is actually Briar's birth mother, and had to give her away to Mary for unknown reasons.
Recurring
Brendon Tremblay as Alexander, a vampire and Ollie's mentor.
Swayam Bhatia as McKenna, Jake's stepsister and a witch who clashes with Briar.
Keegan Connor Tracy as Tamora, a vampire-witch hybrid and former member of Briar's mother's coven.
BJ Harrison as Agnes, a wise witch who teaches at Coven Academy.
Nathaniel Logan McIntyre as Teese, formerly Mason Baptiste, and Sasha's long-lost brother. A recently-turned vampire and friend of Alexander.
Cecelia Deacon as Mary Roberts, Briar's deceased mother.
Brandon McEwan as Dylan, a warlock prankster who is friends with Jake.
Tahmoh Penikett as William, an evil warlock with a hatred of "demon-blooded" beings.
John Innes as Mr. Kittridge, the Head Warlock of Coven Academy.
Special guest star
Devon Sawa as Mr. Peter Cole, a warlock and teacher at Coven Academy.
Episodes
No.
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original release date
US viewers (millions)
1
"Hex Education / Blood, Sweat, and Fears / Mother of All Secrets"
On March 11, 2025, Disney Branded Television gave a pilot order to Coven Academy. Tim Federle serves as the creator and executive producer of the series. On August 15, 2025, the series was formally greenlit, with the cast also being announced. Federle wrote and directed the pilot, with Kimberly McCullough and Bronwyn North-Reist serving as executive producers. Shannon Kohli, Alexis Ostrander, and Aprill Winney directed episodes of the series. On October 26, 2026, Disney+ renewed the series for a second season.
Casting
On August 15, 2025, the main cast was announced, including Malina Weissman as Briar, Malachi Barton as Jake, Jordan Leftwich as Sasha, Ora Duplass as Tegan, Louis Thresher as Ollie, and Tiffani Thiessen as Miss Graves. Brendon Tremblay, Swayam Bhatia, and Keegan Connor Tracy were also cast in recurring roles.
In February 18, 2026, Devon Sawa joined the series in a special guest starring role as Mr. Cole.
Coven Academy was originally planned for release on Disney Channel, but its release was later moved to Freeform.
The series premiered on October 1, 2026, on Freeform. The full season was released on October 2, 2026, on Disney+, Hulu, and Freeform's website. On Freeform, the first season was broadcast in a format of 10 episodes that run between 25 and 43 minutes, while on Disney+ and Hulu, the season was divided into 21 parts, dubbed as chapters, that run between 10–22 minutes.
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 100%, based on eight reviews, with an average of rated reviews of 7.9/10.
Ratings
On streaming, analytics firm FlixPatrol, which monitors daily updated VOD charts and streaming ratings worldwide, reported that Coven Academy ranked No. 1 among television series worldwide on Disney+ on October 4. The series recorded 11.4 million hours viewed globally for its first chapter during its first few days on Disney+ and Hulu. Nielsen Media Research, which records streaming viewership on certain U.S. television screens, announced that the viewership helped the series rank as the No.1 streaming series among viewers aged 12–17 over its premiere weekend and place among the top five shows across all age groups.
Coven Academy also gained attention on social media after Disney released the full first chapter on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube on October 2–the same day as its Disney+ premiere. The release generated more than 30 million additional social media views, including 18 million on TikTok, 11 million on Instagram, and 2.4 million on YouTube.
Notes
123456This episode was first released on Disney+ and Freeform's website on October 2, 2026.
