An Interview with Witches of East End’s Mädchen Amick

It’s finally here — the Season 2 premiere of Witches of East End airs tonight at 9pm ET on Lifetime Canada and at 9/8c on Lifetime in the US! To get you even more excited for its return, here is our recent interview with Mädchen Amick, who won us over last season as Aunt Wendy! In the interview, we discuss the threats to the family resulting from the events of the Season 1 finale, the darker tone of the season, and Wendy’s arc since she is on her last life and taking everything more seriously.

There seems to be an overall darker tone in all of this season’s promos and in the first episode. Is this something that carries out over the second season, or is this just early on in the wake of what happened at the end of Season 1?

It’s definitely a similar tone throughout the whole second season. We still have our fun and our great family storyline and Aunt Wendy still has some good, quick-witted lines to say but it’s definitely a darker tone.

Wendy and Joanna didn’t always see eye to eye on things during the first season, especially when it came to Ingrid and Freya. Has that dynamic changed at all since the family now seems to be more or less on the same page?

Well, Joanna and Wendy have a very, very long sisterhood, hundreds and hundreds of years. Although we always come together and fight together, we seem to always see things differently, and neither one of us hold our tongues, so there will be some new issues that we’re clashing over in the second season.

The story so far has been very female-centric with the focus on the Beauchamp women, but as we’ve seen from the promos, opening the portal to Asgard has released Joanna’s son, Frederick. How does having him in the picture shake things up family-wise?

They write the characters so well and they are so good at casting them. Even though the four of us witches bonded really quickly, playing these characters. Daniel [DiTomasso] and Eric [Winter], we always had such a great time with them and a great rapport, and we call them “one of the girls,” and Christian [Cooke] that came in as Frederick, same thing. Just such an amazing guy, blends right in with the other witches and warlocks. It definitely brings some more male storylines, and it’s really great seeing Killian and Dash now learning to use their powers the way that Ingrid and Freya were learning to use theirs in Season 1. We get to see them explore their powers in Season 2. Bringing Frederick into the family fold brings another dynamic, and I think it really elevates it, it’s really great.

Given what we learned from the first season, would I be correct that Ingrid and Freya have already surpassed their typical lifespan?

They have lived longer than they ever have before, so it’s new territory for us, and it’s a ticking time bomb. It’s keeping them alive knowing that they’ve lived longer than before, and maybe somehow we can change fate. It’s definitely a great added layer to what we’re going through.

There are some really cool transformations for Wendy in the first episode of this season when she’s in a wooded area, and she’s chasing after something. At first, I thought it was Frederick, but by the end of it, I was thinking that there’s some other darkness that’s escaped Asgard.

You think? You may be guessing correctly.

Besides the threats to the family, are there any threats directly to Wendy? We know that she’s at the end of her lives so the stakes are high.

I know, and that’s what’s sort of fun about Wendy’s arc this season. She is on her last life, and she’s always had this very casual attitude toward [life], “Whatever, I died, so what?” Now that she’s on her last life, every time she puts herself in harm’s way, she’s risking her life permanently, so she’s got to make those decisions as we come across our enemies, our foes, keeping each other safe and keeping the girls safe, she has to put her life on the line, and it’s new territory for her. She hasn’t had to experience this before. And just the finality of what it’s like to be born and only have this one life left and doing things to make it be worth it.

One thing that I’ve always found remarkable about your portrayal of this role is that very feline quality that you seem to embody. Is there anything that you’ve done specifically to get into this role, or bring that extra layer into your performance?

You know, it’s a lot of me being me in this role, which hasn’t happened that often. I’ve had to play these femme fatale roles or light-hearted comedic roles, and this has been the one that I’ve felt the most comfortable in my skin. The writers and producers are all very encouraging of it and really appreciate what I bring to it. Maybe I’m just naturally feline. But I do do stuff specifically thinking like a cat, like when I come in and I want to sit down somewhere, I don’t normally sit down in a char. I’m like, “Can I sit on the counter? Can I sit on top of the table? Can I sit on top of the couch?” I definitely approach things, especially when I get sort of heated or angry and I’m grappling for my life, a lot of times I’ll bring out that hissing cat, so just kind of thinking of it that way and incorporating that feline quality to Wendy.

I know you are active on social media and often interact with fans. Looking back at the first season, was there a scene or episode that you enjoyed seeing how viewers reacted, or perhaps saw a reaction that was surprising?

Every time the four of us ladies got together and did a scene, we always felt really good when we did it, we always really acknowledged the magic that happens when we come together. We started voicing that feeling that every time we were together, it was really magical and powerful. Then to actually see the audience react that way too, that their favorite scenes are when the women are together, it’s nice to know that what we’re feeling and that magic is being received and noticed by our audience. Every time that happens, it always kind of blows me away.

I enjoy the relationship that these four women have because it doesn’t revolve around them fighting over a man. Despite being witches, there is a very realistic, human element to it all.

I think that the way they write the characters is so great because they’re very full characters, they’re not stereotypical women put into little boxes that most film and television does. As women personally and our personalities, we all truly love each other and support each other. There is in no strange competition or insecurity or cattiness that happens. We all just really love each other for who we are and our strengths and really cheer each other on, and I think that shows through on screen.

Is there anything that you want to tease about the second season, maybe something that you are excited for the fans to see?

Part of Wendy’s journey this season is taking life a little bit more seriously. She definitely has a love interest that she gets very uncomfortably settled into. She doesn’t like to stay in one place too long, she’s been hurt. We get to see some history behind why she has that feeling about love and why it hurts so much, and there’s a flashback to why she feels that way. Also, she has to struggle with this new relationship that she’s really falling for someone and then of course, just like she predicts, she has to struggle with something once again and that relationship is in peril.

Photo Courtesy of Lifetime