Coven Academy Review: Magic, Teen Drama, Vampires, and a Whole Lot of Secrets

All 21 Episodes Out Now on Disney+

Okay, I’m just going to say it: Disney+’s Coven Academy is exactly the kind of show I can accidentally start watching at 9 p.m. and suddenly realize it’s 2 in the morning.

You know those shows where you tell yourself, “I’ll just watch one episode,” and then the episode ends with some ridiculous cliffhanger that basically dares you to hit “Next Episode”? Yeah. Coven Academy is one of those.

The new supernatural series takes us to New Orleans, throws a bunch of teenage witches, warlocks, vampires, secrets, forbidden romance, murder, family drama and ancient magical forces into the same story, and then says, “Good luck keeping up.”

And honestly?

I had a pretty good time.

Coven Academy follows Briar Roberts, a teenager from New York who arrives at the mysterious Crescent Veil Academy in New Orleans. This isn’t exactly your normal high school. The students are learning magic, supernatural politics are happening behind closed doors, vampires are lurking around, and Briar quickly discovers that her own family history is tied to the school’s secrets.

Disney describes the series as a coming-of-age fantasy/horror drama with comedy, romance and supernatural mystery, and that pretty much tells you what you’re getting.

But the real question is: Is it actually good?

I think it is.

Is it perfect?

Absolutely not.

Does it occasionally make you sit there and say, “Wait…what the hell just happened?”

Yep.

But that’s also part of the fun.

Welcome to Witch School

One of the things I immediately liked about Coven Academy is that it doesn’t waste much time getting into the supernatural stuff.

Briar arrives at Crescent Veil Academy, and before long she’s discovering that she isn’t just some ordinary teenager who happens to have magical abilities.

There’s a much bigger reason she’s there.

And naturally, because this is a supernatural teen drama, every adult knows something they’re not telling her.

Because apparently adults in supernatural television have legally binding contracts that prevent them from simply saying, “Hey, here’s what happened.”

Instead, everybody gives Briar a mysterious look and says something like, “You’ll understand when the time is right.”

Girl.

THE TIME IS NOW.

TELL HER.

That mystery surrounding Briar’s mother becomes one of the show’s biggest storylines, and thankfully, it gives the series something more substantial than simply being “teenagers at magic school.”

Briar isn’t just learning spells and trying to survive high school.

She’s trying to understand where she came from.

And the more she learns, the more complicated everything becomes.

Briar Is Easy to Root For

Malina Weissman does a good job as Briar.

At first, Briar can come across as the stereotypical rebellious teenager who doesn’t want to be somewhere, doesn’t trust anybody and is convinced she can figure everything out herself.

And I’ll be honest: we’ve seen this character before.

A LOT.

But the character becomes more interesting as the season progresses because we start to understand why she’s so guarded.

She’s not just being difficult because the script needs her to be difficult.

She’s dealing with unanswered questions about her mother, her identity and this strange world she’s suddenly been thrown into.

That gives her emotional weight.

And once Briar starts developing relationships with the other students, the character becomes much easier to connect with.

She’s still stubborn.

Still makes questionable decisions.

Still has those moments where you’re yelling at the screen because you’re thinking, “Briar, PLEASE don’t walk into that obviously suspicious room.”

But that’s part of being a teenager in a supernatural show.

Nobody ever makes the smart decision.

If they did, the season would be about four episodes long.

The Coven Is the Heart of the Show

For me, the best part of Coven Academy is the friendship between Briar, Sasha and Tegan.

The three characters have different personalities and different abilities, but they slowly become a team.

And I really enjoyed watching that happen.

It’s not like they meet each other and immediately become the world’s greatest magical trio.

There are awkward moments.

There are secrets.

There are disagreements.

There are trust issues.

And that’s what makes the friendship work.

The show understands that the magic isn’t necessarily the most interesting thing.

The relationships are.

That’s something supernatural teen dramas have understood for years. Whether you’re watching The Vampire Diaries, Shadowhunters, Charmed, Wednesday or Buffy, the supernatural stuff gets you through the door.

The characters make you stay.

And Briar, Sasha and Tegan give Coven Academy its emotional center.

They feel like three people who probably wouldn’t have become friends under normal circumstances, but because they’re thrown into this crazy situation together, they slowly become a family.

And I’m always a sucker for that.

And Then There Are the Vampires…

Because apparently witches weren’t enough.

We also get vampires.

And you know what?

I’m not complaining.

The conflict between witches and vampires gives the show another layer and prevents the story from becoming just another “magic school” series.

There’s a whole supernatural community operating around the academy, and the vampires have their own agendas, relationships and problems.

One of the more interesting characters is Ollie, who brings another perspective to the vampire side of the story.

And then there’s Jake, played by Malachi Barton, who gets pulled into Briar’s story in ways that become increasingly complicated.

Of course, because this is a teen supernatural drama, we also get romance.

Because apparently saving New Orleans from supernatural destruction isn’t stressful enough.

You also need to figure out who you have feelings for.

Priorities.

The Love Triangle Has Entered the Building

Let’s talk about the romance.

Briar finds herself caught between Jake and Ollie, and yes, we’re officially entering Love Triangle™ territory.

Now, normally, this is where I start rolling my eyes.

But Coven Academy makes the situation entertaining enough that I didn’t completely hate it.

Jake and Ollie represent very different sides of Briar’s supernatural world, and their relationships with her aren’t just about who is hotter.

There are actual secrets and complications involved.

Jake has connections to dark magic and a complicated family history.

Ollie has his own struggle with being a vampire and his relationship with humanity.

So naturally, Briar is standing in the middle of all of this thinking, “My life wasn’t complicated enough, so let’s add two supernatural boys.”

Girl.

I feel you.

The Show Knows Exactly What It Wants to Be

One thing I respect about Coven Academy is that it doesn’t seem embarrassed about being a YA supernatural drama.

It isn’t trying to pretend it’s some ultra-serious prestige horror series.

It’s fun.

It’s dramatic.

It’s occasionally cheesy.

It’s mysterious.

It’s romantic.

It’s spooky without being nightmare fuel.

And that’s okay.

Disney officially classifies it across drama, coming-of-age, comedy, horror and fantasy, and honestly, that combination is pretty accurate.

If you’re looking for hardcore horror, this probably isn’t going to scare you out of your seat.

But if you want witches, vampires, secrets, romance and supernatural chaos?

Come on in.

The water’s fine.

Probably.

Unless there’s a vampire in it.

The Short Episodes Are…Interesting

Now here’s where I have mixed feelings.

Coven Academy uses a very different format.

Instead of traditional hour-long episodes, the story is broken into short chapters. The entire first season consists of 21 chapters, but the overall binge is only a little over five hours.

And I actually like the idea.

In today’s streaming world, where people are constantly watching content on phones, tablets and televisions, short episodes can work.

There’s very little time to get bored.

Something is always happening.

A secret gets revealed.

Somebody gets attacked.

Somebody kisses somebody.

Somebody discovers a magical power.

Somebody says something suspicious.

And then—

CUT TO BLACK.

NEXT CHAPTER.

It’s basically television saying, “You thought you were going to bed?”

Nope.

You’re watching episode 17.

Enjoy.

However, I do think the format sometimes hurts the storytelling.

There are moments where I wanted a scene to breathe.

A character would reveal something important, and I’d think, “Wait, can we stay here for a minute?”

But then we’re already moving on to the next storyline.

Some viewers have also criticized the short runtime for making the pacing feel rushed.

And I understand that criticism.

There are times when Coven Academy feels like it’s moving at 100 miles per hour.

But at the same time, I can’t say I was bored.

So I guess that’s the trade-off.

The Mystery Kept Me Watching

The mystery surrounding Briar’s mother is probably the biggest reason I wanted to keep going.

The show constantly gives you little pieces of information and makes you question who you can trust.

And I love that kind of storytelling.

You start thinking you’ve figured something out.

Then the show throws another piece of information at you.

Then you think, “Okay, NOW I know what’s going on.”

Nope.

Wrong again.

And that continues throughout the season.

Some of the twists are easier to predict than others, but the show does a good job keeping enough questions open to make you want answers.

And once you start connecting the characters to Briar’s past, the story becomes much more interesting.

Tiffani Thiessen Is Having Fun

And then there’s Tiffani Thiessen.

Yes.

Kelly Kapowski is running a school for witches.

I’m sorry, but that alone is worth watching.

Thiessen plays Miss Graves, the mysterious headmistress of Crescent Veil Academy.

And I really enjoyed seeing her in this kind of role.

She’s not simply “the nice adult.”

There’s more going on with Graves.

She knows things.

She has secrets.

She clearly has complicated feelings about Briar.

And Thiessen gives the character enough mystery that you never completely know what she’s going to do next.

Her return to television after a five-year break also makes the role feel like a fun new chapter for her career. Thiessen has talked about how the role felt like a full-circle moment because of her history with youth-oriented television.

And honestly?

I’m here for it.

The Adult Cast Is Surprisingly Good

The adults actually add a lot to the show.

Devon Sawa is another familiar face, playing Mr. Cole, and there’s a nice balance between the younger cast and the veteran performers.

That’s important because teen dramas can sometimes make every adult character feel like they’re just standing around waiting for the teenagers to solve everything.

Here, the adults have their own secrets and motivations.

You can’t always tell who is trustworthy.

And that’s exactly how it should be.

The Visual Effects Are a Mixed Bag

Now let’s talk about the elephant in the room.

The special effects.

Sometimes they look pretty good.

Other times…

Well…

Let’s just say I have seen better-looking magical bees.

The CGI is probably the weakest technical aspect of the show.

There are scenes where the magic looks genuinely cool, especially when spells and supernatural powers are used.

Then you’ll get an effect that looks like it came from a computer program that was having a really bad Tuesday.

And because the good effects are actually pretty good, the weaker ones stand out even more.

It’s not enough to ruin the show for me, but it definitely reminded me that this isn’t a giant-budget fantasy production.

Coven Academy is working with what it has.

And sometimes you can see the budget on the screen.

It Has Some Serious “I’ve Seen This Before” Energy

Let’s be honest.

If you’ve watched a lot of supernatural television, you’re going to recognize some things.

The magical school.

The mysterious new student.

The handsome supernatural boy.

The forbidden romance.

The secret family history.

The vampire conflict.

The adults who know too much.

The dangerous ancient evil.

The cliffhangers.

We’ve been here before.

But originality isn’t always about inventing something nobody has ever seen.

Sometimes it’s about taking familiar ingredients and making them entertaining.

And Coven Academy does that well enough.

The show has been compared to things like The Vampire Diaries, Shadowhunters, Wednesday and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and I can definitely see why.

But I wouldn’t call it a copy of any of them.

It’s more like Coven Academy walked into the supernatural television buffet and said:

“I’ll take some of that.”

And honestly?

Good choice.

The Soundtrack Deserves Some Love

Another thing that surprised me was the music.

The soundtrack adds personality to the show and helps make the younger characters feel like actual teenagers rather than characters trapped in a fantasy universe.

Music is one of those things you don’t always notice until it’s bad.

Here, it generally works.

The series uses recognizable contemporary artists, including Olivia Rodrigo, Lady Gaga and KATSEYE, which gives the show an additional modern flavor.

And yes, sometimes I’m sitting there watching supernatural drama and suddenly thinking:

“Okay, this song actually slaps.”

That’s a win.

So…Is

Coven Academy

Worth Watching?

Yeah.

I think it is.

But you have to know what you’re getting into.

If you’re expecting Game of Thrones levels of fantasy storytelling, you’re probably going to be disappointed.

If you’re expecting The Conjuring levels of horror, you’re definitely going to be disappointed.

But if you want a fun YA supernatural series with witches, vampires, romance, friendship, mystery and enough secrets to keep you hitting “Next Episode,” then Coven Academy is worth checking out.

And the fact that the entire season is available to binge makes it even easier.

There’s no waiting around for next week’s episode.

You can just sit down and go through the entire magical mess.

And trust me, once those cliffhangers start hitting, you’re going to understand why that’s dangerous.

Final Thoughts

I went into Coven Academy expecting a cute little supernatural Disney+ show.

What I got was a surprisingly addictive YA mystery that mixes witches, vampires, romance and family secrets into a fast-moving supernatural soap opera.

And I mean that as a compliment.

Because sometimes you don’t need television to reinvent the wheel.

Sometimes you just want the wheel to have magic powers.

Coven Academy isn’t perfect.

The CGI can be inconsistent.

The dialogue occasionally feels a little too YA.

The short chapter format can make certain storylines feel rushed.

And some of the twists aren’t exactly impossible to predict.

But the characters kept me invested.

Briar’s mystery kept me watching.

The friendship between Briar, Sasha and Tegan is the show’s emotional backbone.

Jake and Ollie bring plenty of romantic drama.

The witches versus vampires storyline gives the show some supernatural stakes.

And Miss Graves adds just enough mystery to make you wonder what the adults aren’t telling us.

Most importantly, I had fun watching it.

And isn’t that what we want sometimes?

Not every show has to change television.

Not every series needs to win every award.

Sometimes you just want to turn on Disney+, see a bunch of teenagers throwing magic around, watch somebody make a terrible decision, yell at the screen, laugh, and immediately press “Next Episode.”

Coven Academy delivers that.

And if Disney gives us another season, I’m absolutely coming back.

Because after everything this first season throws at us, there are still plenty of magical doors left to open.

And knowing this show, whatever is behind those doors probably wants to kill somebody.

My Rating: 4 out of 5

Final Verdict: Coven Academy is a fun, addictive supernatural YA drama that doesn’t reinvent the genre but knows exactly how to entertain. It’s got witches, vampires, romance, mystery, friendship and enough secrets to keep you watching. The effects could use some extra magic, and the pacing occasionally moves faster than a witch running late for class, but once you get into the world, it’s an easy binge.

So yeah…

Grab your popcorn, turn on Disney+, and enter the coven. Just don’t trust anybody. Seriously.