The Secret Circle - Pilot

















Starring: Britt Robertson, Thomas Dekker, Gale Harold, Phoebe Tonkin, Shelley Hennig, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Ashley Crow, Louis Hunter, Natasha Henstridge
Rating: ****

Air Date:
September 28th, 8pm - SkyLiving


The CW's brand new show about a secret coven of witches is exciting, fresh and definitely one to watch out for.


Cassie (Robertson) is a teenage girl who lives with her mum and lives a fairly normal life. One day when her mother dies in a house fire her life is turned upside down. She moves to the small town of Chance Harbor to live with her Grandmother (Crow), and it is here she discovers she was born with magical powers far beyond what she could ever imagine. Robertson gives the character such heart and emotion that you warm to her instantly. She is able to change from a confident teen, to a fish-out-of-water young girl who is completely out of her depth, and she does it with such ease. You want her to be safe and you hope she ends up happy in her life, but at the same time you hope she can kick butt and I'm sure she will pull it off brilliantly. I'm looking forward to the character developing and when she really starts to come into her powers and use them with force.


Adam and Diana (Dekker & Hennig) are a happy young couple, and are the first to befriend Cassie at school. They both are very sweet characters and clearly want to help Cassie through the tough journey she is about to go on. They are both part of 'The Secret Circle' and try their hardest to convince Cassie she is a witch. In the end they convince her and she decides to help them and join the circle. Both actors portray the characters well and make them relatable and fun. There will clearly be a love triangle between these two and Cassie and it should be interesting to watch unfold in the future. Faye (Tonkin) is the popular, spoilt girl at school, she doesn't think and puts herself before everyone and everything. She instantly sets the bar for her character by putting Cassie in danger. She does this to see if Cassie can save herself magically, but of course it is so ludicrous that you instantly know how selfish she really can be. The whole way through the episode she rubs people up the wrong way, and tries to push her magic to dangerous levels. It is going to be interesting to watch the contrast between her and the other characters, especially as Tonkin is able to portray the character so well.


Melissa and Nick (Kennedy & Hunter) are the last two members of 'The Secret Circle' and in this episode aren't used that much. Melissa is clearly the less confident sidekick of Faye's and Nick is the school jock, so basically every "clique" and stereotype is covered. Both actors are alright but I can't really judge on this episode, so only time will tell with these two. Charles and Dawn (Harold & Henstridge) are the parents of Diana and Faye, respectively. These characters are the antagonists in the series and they both play it very well. Charles comes off as evil and Harold plays it well, but Dawn comes off as kind but in reality she is just as evil as Charles. What is really great is the way the contrast with their children, Diana is sweet, but Charles is monstrous and Faye is a bitch, but on the surface Dawn is a lovely woman. Harold is clearly brilliant at being evil, but it is Henstridge who shines at the end when she shows a brilliant contrast between her two personalities. I'm looking forward to what evil surprises these characters have up their sleeves and how they progress.


The show is full of twist and turns, and I'm sure the are plenty more to come in the future. It is well written and with the guy behind "The Vampire Diaries" and the "Scream" series (Williamson) working on this show you know it is going to be good. The casting is perfect, and for a pilot it was terrific. The show premiere's on SkyLiving, September 28th at 8pm, so tune in then and see what all the fuss is about.

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