Review: Good Witch

PHOTO CREDIT: OFFICIAL TV SHOW POSTER

BY SARAH SHARPE

Last week, the Hallmark Channel premiered their brand new television series, Good Witch, based off of their successful seven-movie film franchise. The movies and TV series star Catherine Bell as good-hearted enchantress Cassandra “Cassie” Nightingale. After moving to the small town of Middleton and starting a family with Chief of Police Jake Russell (Chris Potter) and his two kids, Brandon (Matthew Knight in the movies and Dan Jeanotte in the TV series) and Lori (Hannah Endicott-Douglas), Cassie eventually becomes loved by the entire town and grows to be a prominent figure of the community.

In the television series, Jake has died on the job and Cassie now lives with her daughter, Grace (Bailee Madison), and father-in-law, George (Peter MacNeill). Brandon and Lori have also moved back in. Lori decides to take a job at the local newspaper she worked at before leaving home, Brandon decides to quit his job in the music industry and join the police force, much to his family’s dismay, and Grace is navigating through her first year of high school, dealing with friends and her “gift” of being able to “see things before they happen”. Cassie’s seemingly perfect world gets challenged, however, when her new neighbors Dr. Sam (James Denton) and Nick (Rhys Matthew Bond) Radford move in next door. Sam is the only doctor in town, but quickly realizes he has competition when he learns of Cassie’s eastern herbal remedies to illnesses that her friends and family swear by. Nick, missing his home in New York City and rebelling against his divorced dad, acts out and creates schemes that are purposefully manufactured to get Grace and her best friend Anthony (Shane Harte) in trouble.

I have yet to see the movies, but decided to watch the TV series because I am a huge fan of Madison. (She actually trained at my acting studio, so I support every project she’s a part of.) While I thought the concept was cute and the story was sweet, I was a little disappointed by the pilot episode. Maybe it’s because, like I said, I didn’t watch the movies, but there was definitely not enough drama and excitement within those two hours. Everything was predictable and, unlike those that are a part of the series’ cult following, Cassie’s charm did not rub off on me.

Will I watch the next nine episodes? Maybe if I have a couple of hours to kill. Will I continue to support Madison? Yes. She’s a very talented actress and it’s not her fault that the script she had to work with was slightly underwhelming.

While it does have its flaws, Good Witch is a fine show to watch if your family wants to spend a nice Saturday evening together. Who knows? Maybe Cassie will cast a spell on you.