Motherland: Fort Salem is a Freeform original supernatural drama television series developed by Eliot Laurence that premiered on March 18, 2020. Taylor Hickson plays Raelle Collar, Jessica Sutton plays Tally Craven, and Ashley Nicole Williams plays Abigail Bellweather, three witches recruited into the United States Army. The sitcom got renewed for a second season in May 2020, with the debut date set for June 22, 2021. The series was renewed for a third and final season in August 2021.
Motherland: Fort Salem (2020) Synopsis
Motherland: Fort Salem follows three witches, Raelle Collar, Abigail Bellweather, and Tally Craven, who are forced into the United States Army. They practice battle magic and overlay vocal sounds to generate strong spells by enacting “seeds” or “seed sounds” with their vocal cords. The series is set in a world controlled by women, in which the United States halted witch-hunting 300 years ago at the Salem witch trials, according to an agreement known as the Salem Accord. The world is a conflict with a terrorist organization known as the Spree, which is a witch resistance group fighting against witch conscription.
Motherland: Fort Salem Series Details
| Also known as | Fort Salem |
| Genre | · Drama, Sci-Fi, Fantasy
· Supernatural, Thriller |
| Created by | Eliot Laurence |
| Music by | Brandon Roberts |
| Country of origin
Filming Locations |
United States
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 20 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | · Steven A. Adelson
· Will Ferrell · Adam McKay · Kevin Messick · Eliot Laurence · Maria Maggenti · Bryan Q. Miller · Erin Maher · Kay Reindl · Amanda Tapping |
| Producers | · Heather Thomason
· Brian Studler · Joe DeOliveira |
| Cinematography | · Jon Joffin
· Michael Wale · Stephen Jackson · Craig Powell |
| Editors | · Christopher S. Capp
· Avi Youabian · Jered Zalman · Gena Bleier · Matthew Gilna · David Abramson · Robert Komatsu |
| Running time | 41–51 minutes |
| Production companies | · Gary Sanchez Productions
· Hyperobject Industries · Well Underway · Freeform Studios |
| Release | |
| Original network | Freeform |
| Original release | March 18, 2020 – present |
Motherland: Fort Salem Cast
- Taylor Hickson as Raelle Collar
- Amalia Holm as Scylla
- Demetria McKinney as Anacostia Quartermaine
- Jessica Sutton as Tally Craven
- Ashley Nicole Williams as Abigail Bellweather
- Lyne Renée as Sarah Alder
Recurring
- Catherine Lough Haggquist as Petra Bellweather
- Diana Pavlovska as Willa Collar
- Hrothgar Mathews as Edwin Collar
- Annie Jacob as Glory Moffett
- Sarah Yarkin as Libba Swythe
- Sheryl Lee Ralph as Kelly Wade
- Kai Bradbury as Gerit Buttonwood
- Emilie Leclerc as Izadora
- Tony Giroux as Adil
- Kylee Brown as Khalida
- Victor Webster as Blanton Silver
- Arlen Aguayo-Stewart as Nicte Batan
- Mellany Barrosas as Penelope Silver
- Ess Hödlmoser as M
- Praneet Akilla as Gregorio
Guest
- Nick E. Tarabay as Witchfather
- Bernadette Beck as Charvel Bellweather
- Naiah Cummins as Bridey
- Marci T. House as The Imperatrix
Motherland: Fort Salem Episodes
Series overview
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 10 | March 18, 2020 | May 20, 2020 | |
| 2 | 10 | June 22, 2021 | August 24, 2021 | |
Season 1 (2020)
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|
| 1 | 1 | “Say the Words” | Steven A. Adelson | Eliot Laurence | March 18, 2020 | 0.462 | |
| 2 | 2 | “My Witches” | Steven A. Adelson | Eliot Laurence | March 25, 2020 | 0.379 | |
| 3 | 3 | “A Biddy’s Life” | Amanda Tapping | Brian Studler | April 1, 2020 | 0.341 | |
| 4 | 4 | “Hail Beltane” | Haifaa Al Mansour | Christopher Oscar Peña | April 8, 2020 | 0.245 | |
| 5 | 5 | “Bellweather Season” | MJ Bassett | Joy Kecken | April 15, 2020 | 0.289 | |
| 6 | 6 | “Up is Down” | Rebecca Johnson | Maria Maggenti | April 22, 2020 | 0.324 | |
| 7 | 7 | “Mother Mycelium” | Shannon Kohli | Nicole Avenia & Nikki McCauley | April 29, 2020 | 0.243 | |
| 8 | 8 | “Citydrop” | David Grossman | Eli Edelson & Joy Kecken | May 6, 2020 | 0.267 | |
| 9 | 9 | “Coup” | Steven A. Adelson | Teleplay by : Eliot Laurence Story by : Maria Maggenti |
May 13, 2020 | 0.257 | |
| 10 | 10 | “Witchbomb” | Steven A. Adelson | Eliot Laurence | May 20, 2020 | 0.313 |
Season 2 (2021)
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 11 | 1 | “Of the Blood” | Amanda Tapping | Eliot Laurence | June 22, 2021 | 0.257 |
| 12 | 2 | “Abomination” | Amanda Tapping | Brian Studler | June 29, 2021 | 0.153 |
| 13 | 3 | “A Tiffany” | Shannon Kohli | Kay Reindl & Erin Maher | July 6, 2021 | 0.186 |
| 14 | 4 | “Not Our Daughters” | Nimisha Mukerji | Bryan Q. Miller | July 13, 2021 | 0.153 |
| 15 | 5 | “Brianna’s Favorite Pencil” | Jason Stone | Nicole Avenia | July 20, 2021 | 0.136 |
| 16 | 6 | “My 3 Dads” | Jem Garrard | Eli Edelson | July 27, 2021 | 0.182 |
| 17 | 7 | “Irrevocable” | Shannon Kohli | KD Dávila & Will J. Watkins | August 3, 2021 | 0.210 |
| 18 | 8 | “Delusional” | Kimani Ray Smith | Kay Reindl & Erin Maher | August 10, 2021 | 0.211 |
| 19 | 9 | “Mother of All, Mother of None” | David Frazee | Bryan Q. Miller | August 17, 2021 | 0.161 |
| 20 | 10 | “Revolution, Part 1” | Amanda Tapping | Eliot Laurence & Brian Studler | August 24, 2021 | 0.145 |
Production
The series’ development began in August 2016 under the working title Motherland, and a pilot was ordered on June 5, 2018. On March 5, 2019, Freeform announced that the project has received a straight-to-series order for the first season of 10 episodes. Eliot Laurence devised the show, and he was also set to executive produce alongside Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Kevin Messick, Maria Maggenti, and Steven Adelson. Adelson also directed the pilot. Freeform Studios and Gary Sanchez Productions were among the production companies engaged in the project.
The series’ official trailer was published on May 14, 2019. The show debuted on March 18, 2020. The sitcom was renewed for a second season by Freeform on May 19, 2020, with a launch date of June 22, 2021.
David J. Peterson and Jessie Sams devised the language Ménshè, which is spoken by the Tarim on the program and is characterized as an “old witch language.” Laurence and his crew recognized Peterson from his prior work on Game of Thrones and engaged him to establish the show’s language.
Freeform renewed the series for a third and final season on August 23, 2021.
Casting
Taylor Hickson, Jessica Sutton, Amalia Holm, and Demetria McKinney were cast as series regulars alongside the initial series announcement. Kelcey Mawema, one of the original pilot’s leads, was replaced. Ashley Nicole Williams was announced as Kelcey Mawema’s replacement on March 28, 2019. Bernadette Beck was revealed as a guest star in the series on August 9, 2019. Kai Bradbury was revealed to join the cast as a recurring character on September 24, 2019. Sarah Yarkin was cast in a recurring role on January 28, 2020. Lyne Renée was upgraded to series regular for the second season on May 19, 2020.
Victor Webster, Mellany Barros, Praneet Akilla, Ess Hödlmoser, and Arlen Aguayo were cast in recurring roles for the second season on May 27, 2021.
Filming
The pilot was filmed in July of 2018. The first season’s principal filming began on April 22, 2019, and finished on August 23, 2019, in Vancouver, British Columbia. From May 9 to 10, 2019, filming took place in Surrey, British Columbia’s Cloverdale neighborhood. The second season began filming on October 9, 2020 and ended on April 1, 2021.
Filming for the third season is scheduled to begin on November 2, 2021, and conclude on March 4, 2022.
Motherland: Fort Salem Music
Brandon Roberts composed the soundtrack for the series. The first season’s album was published on March 20, 2020.
| Motherland: Fort Salem (Original Score) | |||
| No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
| 1. | “Motherland: Fort Salem (Main Title)” | Brandon Roberts | 1:11 |
| 2. | “The Spree” | Brandon Roberts | 1:24 |
| 3. | “Blue Rose (Friendship Theme)” | Brandon Roberts | 2:19 |
| 4. | “Raelle and Scylla” | Brandon Roberts | 2:00 |
| 5. | “The Bellweather Legacy” | Brandon Roberts | 1:27 |
| 6. | “Ballons!” | Brandon Roberts | 3:00 |
| 7. | “Aftermath” | Brandon Roberts | 1:29 |
| 8. | “Refugees” | Brandon Roberts | 0:57 |
| 9. | “The Unbearable Sadness of Porter” | Brandon Roberts | 1:53 |
| 10. | “Missing Salva” | Brandon Roberts | 1:30 |
| 11. | “War College” | Brandon Roberts | 1:19 |
| 12. | “Finding Raelle” | Brandon Roberts | 2:02 |
| 13. | “Saving Khalida” | Brandon Roberts | 2:05 |
| 14. | “Scylla Revealed” | Brandon Roberts | 2:10 |
| 15. | “Truck Stop” | Brandon Roberts | 2:43 |
| 16. | “Remembrance” | Brandon Roberts | 1:22 |
| 17. | “Slaughter” | Brandon Roberts | 2:12 |
| 18. | “One Less Witch in the World” | Brandon Roberts | 1:23 |
| 19. | “Presidential Address” | Brandon Roberts | 2:39 |
| 20. | “Mother and Daughter” | Brandon Roberts | 1:20 |
| 21. | “the Carmarilla” | Brandon Roberts | 2:51 |
| 22. | “Witchbomb” | Brandon Roberts | 0:53
|
Motherland: Fort Salem Reaction
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has a 69 percent approval rating based on 16 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.37/10. “Despite a terrific cast and stunning setup, Motherland: Fort Salem’s ambitious ambitions are overshadowed by the sheer too-muchness of it all,” says the website’s critical consensus. It has a weighted average score of 49 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on reviews from 7 critics, indicating “mixed or mediocre reviews.”
Motherland: Fort Salem Release Dates
| Brazil | 18 March 2020 | (internet) |
| Netherlands | 18 March 2020 | (internet) |
| Poland | 18 March 2020 | |
| Turkey | 18 March 2020 | (internet) |
| USA | 18 March 2020 | |
| Australia | 20 March 2020 | |
| Canada | 25 March 2020 | |
| UK | 26 July 2020 | |
| Indonesia | 5 September 2020 | (internet) |
| Germany | 20 November 2020 | (internet) |
| Spain | 20 November 2020 | (internet) |
| France | 20 November 2020 | (internet) |
| Italy | 20 November 2020 | (internet) |
| Singapore | 22 June 2021 | |
| Sweden | 4 August 2021 | (internet) |
Also Known As (AKA)
| (original title) | Motherland: Fort Salem |
| Argentina | Motherland: Fort Salem |
| Australia | Motherland: Fort Salem |
| Brazil | Motherland: Fort Salem |
| Canada (French title) | Motherland: Fort Salem |
| Canada (English title) | Motherland: Fort Salem |
| France | Motherland: Fort Salem |
| Germany | Motherland: Fort Salem |
| India (English title) | Motherland: Fort Salem |
| India (Hindi title) | Motherland: Fort Salem |
| Indonesia (English title) | Motherland: Fort Salem |
| Italy | Motherland: Fort Salem |
| Japan (Japanese title) | Motherland: Fort Salem |
| Mexico | Motherland: Fort Salem |
| Netherlands | Motherland: Fort Salem |
| Philippines (English title) | Motherland: Fort Salem |
| Poland | Motherland: Fort Salem |
| Russia | Родина: Форт Салем |
| Serbia | Отаџбина: Тврђава Салема |
| Singapore (English title) | Motherland: Fort Salem |
| South Korea | Motherland: Fort Salem |
| Spain | Motherland: Fort Salem |
| Sweden | Motherland: Fort Salem |
| Taiwan | 女巫前線：塞勒姆要塞 |
| Turkey (Turkish title) | Motherland: Fort Salem |
| United Arab Emirates | Motherland: Fort Salem |
| UK | Fort Salem |
| USA | Motherland: Fort Salem |