I remember when Freeform and The CW dominated primetime TV with young adult series.

Those were the days of The Vampire Diaries and the Arrowverse on The CW, and Switched at Birth, The Fosters, and Good Trouble on Freeform.

Those days sadly ended, so it’s exciting to see a promotion for Coven Academy, premiering in October on Freeform.

(Disney/David Astorga)

The teen supernatural series reminds me of The Secret Circle, Legacies, and Twilight, so it feels like an old-school The CW series.

Coven Academy follows Briar, a New York teenager, who is sent to a New Orleans magic school, Crescent Vail, after her mother mysteriously dies.

  • Anna Pigeon Season 1 Episode 2 Finds Its Footing and Puts Down Rootsby Jasmine Blu
  • Fightland Season 1 Episode 3 Review: No Innocents Turns Duke’s Revenge Into a Powder Kegby Tarcia Bush
  • Silo Season 3 Episode 7 Leaves Fates Hanging in the Balanceby Alexandria Ingham

She assumes she’s attending a boarding school for troubled girls, but it’s actually a magic school to help teens unearth their powers.

Coven Academy highlights Briar and two of her magical witch friends as they learn the secrets of the magic school.

(Courtesy of Disney+)

They become caught between ancient superstitions, feuds, and forbidden love interests, and the coven must decide what they’re willing to risk to protect themselves or the city.

Ever since I heard the premise, I was intrigued. It could bring in lots of old nostalgic fans and several new ones.

Almost every network has housed a supernatural teen mystery; The CW had more than I can count. Netflix has Wednesday.

Genre Shows Opinion Piece Young Adult Coven Academy Is the Perfect Series to Relaunch Freeform’s Scripted TV… Except for the Binge Release Laura Nowak – August 14, 2026 Opinion Piece Trailers Young Adult Crew Girl Is Ready to Make Waves with Rowing, Rivalries & a Hot New Love Triangle Maggie Harriman – August 14, 2026 – 1 Reply Opinion Piece Sugar Season 3 Prediction: Here’s What John’s Blinking Alien Radio Could Really Mean Siddhika Prajapati – August 13, 2026 Horror Opinion Piece Between Widow’s Bay and Eternally Yours, Horror-Comedy is Making A Comeback in TV — And I’m Here For It Sam Huang – August 13, 2026 Classic TV Opinion Piece 9 Years Later, I’m Still Not Over Sheldon’s Horrible Hindi Accent on The Big Bang Theory Sayantan Choudhary – August 12, 2026 – 2 Replies

Disney has never really delved into this genre because of their audience, and that’s why Freeform was the ideal network to air Coven Academy.

Their viewership leans a bit older than the Disney Channel, so I’m thrilled they took this risk, and it still fit their brand, which often focused on romance, family, and friendship.

(Disney/David Astorga)

Coven Academy will reach multiple audiences with established 90s icons like Tiffani Thiessen (Beverly Hills 90210) and Devon Sawa (Nikita).

Thiessen plays the headmistress, Miss Graves, and also knew Briar’s mother, while Sawa portrays one of the school’s cool professors.

Add TV Fanatic as a Trusted Source on Google!

Get More of Our Coverage!

The CW fans will recognize Malina Pauli Weissman (Briar) as Young Kara from Supergirl. She was talented back then, and I am looking forward to seeing her lead Coven Academy.

While Coven Academy is the perfect fit for Freeform and the kind of programming it’s been missing, it would be better if it were airing weekly instead of in a bingeable format.

Instead, Coven Academy consists of 21 fast-paced chapters, so they’ll air more like three movies on Freeform, beginning on October 1.

Fast-paced chapters over three weeks do not cut it, especially when you can binge all of it on Disney+ or Hulu the next day. This is the type of show fans could talk about for weeks if we let it linger.

They could discuss how Briar adapts to her grief over losing her mom, discovers she has magic, and makes new friends.

There will likely be debates about her love triangle and whether she chooses Jake (Malachi Barton), the charming warlock, or Ollie (Louis Thresher), the new hungry vampire.

(Disney/David Astorga)

I’m still excited for Coven Academy, but the bingeable format has dimmed it some.

Over to you, TV Fanatics.

  • 9-1-1 Season 10: What I’d Like to See From the Charactersby Whitney Evans
  • Best Lines from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 3’s “Human Best Friend”by Diana Keng
  • Best Lines from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 2, “The Griffin Incident”by Diana Keng

Do you plan to watch Coven Academy? Does it feel like an old-school YA series? Do you prefer weekly drops or a binegable format?

Let us know in the comments.

Coven Academy premieres on Freeform on October 1, and the entire season drops on Disney+ and Hulu on October 2.

  • Binge Releases Are Killing the Conversation Around Genre TV

    Binge releases are killing the conversation around genre TV, leaving horror, sci-fi, YA, and action shows with little time to build fandom or survive.

  • 7 Things The Boroughs Does Differently From Stranger Things

    The Boroughs may resemble Stranger Things, but Netflix’s new sci-fi mystery uses older heroes, aging, grief, and desert horror differently.

  • Paradise’s Genre Shift Is Its Most Frustrating Twist Yet

    The Paradise Season 2 finale royally changed things up, and I’m not sure a genre shift was worthwhile. Let’s discuss.

TV Fanatic is searching for passionate contributors to share their voices across various article types. Think you have what it takes to be a TV Fanatic? Click here for more information and next steps.

The post Coven Academy Is the Perfect Series to Relaunch Freeform’s Scripted TV… Except for the Binge Release appeared first on TV Fanatic.