Comic-Con 2015: SALEM Renewed for Third Season

Plenty of devious plans for future Salem episodes were discussed at the show's roundtables that Daily Dead took part in at Comic-Con, and now some of those ideas could move forward on the small screen, as WGN America has officially renewed their witchcraft series for a third season.

Press Release: The magic continues for WGN America’s original, breakout hit series “Salem,” with the announcement made today at Comic-Con International: San Diego by the cast and creative team that the supernatural thriller has been renewed for a third season.  The captivating one-hour drama, from Fox 21 Television Studios and creators and writers Brannon Braga and Adam Simon, boldly reimagines the infamous 17th century witch trials in colonial Massachusetts in a world where witches are real, but they are not who or what they seem to be.  The third season will begin production in Shreveport, LA later this year for a 2016 debut.

“Salem” season two averaged over 1.1 million Total Viewers and 545,000 Adults 18-49 on a Live + 7 basis on Sunday nights.  During its season two run, the highly sought-after series more than doubled its Live + 7 performance among Total Viewers, vaulting +117% over Live + Same Day and ranking among the top five time-shifted original dramas on cable this season in percentage lift.

This year’s Comic-Con was invaded by the Witch War as stars Shane West, Janet Montgomery, Seth Gabel, Ashley Madekwe, Elise Eberle and Iddo Goldberg, along with creators, writers and executive producers Brannon Braga and Adam Simon, treated fans to a panel discussion and Q&A and shared spellbinding footage from the show’s second season, which finished its season two run June 28.

“Salem” stars Janet Montgomery (“Human Target,” “Made in Jersey”), Shane West (“Nikita,” “ER”), Seth Gabel (“Arrow,” “Fringe”), Ashley Madekwe (“Revenge”), Tamzin Merchant (“Jane Eyre”), Elise Eberle (“The Astronaut Farmer”) and Iddo Goldberg (“Mob City”).  Joining the series in season two were Lucy Lawless (“Xena: Warrior Princess”, “Spartacus”), Stuart Townsend (“Betrayal,” “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”), Joe Doyle (“Raw”) and Oliver Bell (“The Saint”).

“Salem” is executive produced by Brannon Braga, Adam Simon, Josh Barry and Jeff Kwatinez for Prospect Park, Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson.  Nick Copus directs and serves as co-executive producer. The series is produced by Fox 21 Television Studios.

Follow “Salem” on Twitter and YouTube @SalemWGNA. “Like” the series on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SalemWGNA.

WGN America and Tribune Studios
WGN America, the flagship entertainment network of Tribune Media Company (NYSE: TRCO), is nationally distributed in 73 million homes via cable, satellite and telco, with high-quality entertainment programming including the breakout hit series “Salem,” critically acclaimed drama “Manhattan,” and upcoming scripted dramas “Underground,” “Outsiders” and “Ten Commandments.”  The network also brings its audience a strong slate of popular first-run syndicated series and blockbuster movies.  Through Tribune Studios, the creative development arm of Tribune Media Company, original content is produced for WGN America and Tribune local stations nationwide.  Follow the network on Twitter @wgnamerica.  For additional information, please visit www.wgnamerica.com.

Fox 21 Television Studios
The newly formed Fox 21 Television Studios is a production unit housed within Fox Television Group devoted to making creatively ambitious scripted and unscripted series for all distribution platforms. Fox 21 Television Studios currently produces the Emmy and Golden Globe winning Homeland starring Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin, the critically acclaimed The Americans (with FX Productions) starring Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell, Kurt Sutter’s smash hit Sons of Anarchy (with FX Productions), Brannon Braga and Adam Simon’s supernatural hit Salem, Veena Sud’s The Killing, Howard Gordon’s Tyrant, Legends from Howard Gordon and Jonathan Levin, and The Comedians (with FX Productions) from Larry Charles, Matt Nix and Ben Wexler, starring Billy Crystal and Josh Gad. In addition to American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson, this spring, the studio begins production on The Bastard Executioner (with FX productions) from Brian Grazer, Kurt Sutter, and Paris Barclay.