Freeform has ordered the pilot for a new witch centered horror-action series with the working title “Motherland“, also known as “Untitled Eliot Laurence Project”.
According to Deadline, the show is “an hour-long fantasy drama” from “Claws” creator Eliot Laurence and Gary Sanchez Productions.
The show is “Set in an alternate America where witches ended their persecution 300 years ago by cutting a deal with the U.S. government to fight for their country, the series follows three young women from basic training in combat magic into early deployment at Fort Salem. In this world, the traditional roles of gender and power are flipped with the more dominant women on the front lines fighting looming terrorist threats that are familiar to our world, but with tactics and weapons supernatural.”
Steve Adelson (12 Monkeys) will be in the director’s chair for the pilot. Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, and Kevin Messick will be executive producing.
We had been looking for a show about witches,” EVP of Programming and Development for Freeform Karey Burke said. “The “alt” landscape of the show suggested a world in the vein of Man in the High Castle or Handmaid’s Tale. While a military force is the center of the show, instead of guns and bullets, the characters use elements like weather patterns and sound to subdue evildoers. We really like the story possibilities that gives us.”
