Move over, Harry Potter — Disney’s 21-episode fantasy thriller is the world’s No. 1 streaming hit

If you thought Harry Potter had the supernatural teen drama market sorted, Disney's newest series makes a solid case for stealing that crown. Coven Academy absolutely exploded onto the scene this October, magically chasing down all the witches, vampires and brooding teens you can handle—plus a murder mystery for good measure. In other words: this is the sort of show that doesn’t pretend it isn’t borrowing every trick in the supernatural playbook, and frankly, it’s all the better for it.

Coven Academy premiered on 1 October and has already shot to #1 on Disney+ globally.

The Spooky Details

Here’s what you’re actually getting: Malina Weissman plays Briar Roberts, a New Yorker plonked into a shady New Orleans boarding school called Crescent Veil Academy, where the graduation requirements apparently include actual witchcraft. She’s not alone—there’s Sasha (Jordan Leftwich) and Tegan (Ora Duplass) in the obligatory coven, and yes, the usual batch of eccentric classmates, suspicious teachers, lurking warlocks and, naturally, vampires. Of course, Briar’s not just there to practice spells—she’s dead set on finding out what really happened to her missing mum, which, surprise surprise, launches her right into a tangled plot full of secret societies and lurking threats.

The cast leans hard into nostalgia: Devon Sawa turns up (still looking semi-haunted, as always), and Tiffani Thiessen drops in to do what Tiffani Thiessen does—give you a genre comfort blanket and, possibly, some cryptic warnings. The rest of the ensemble is mostly newcomers, but no one’s visibly lost in the fog.

• Episodes aren’t a standard length—some run just 11 minutes, while others stretch out to a more traditional 23, a side effect of the switch from Freeform’s original run to the chopped-up streaming release on Disney+ and Hulu.
• The show is 21 episodes long for the first season.
• There’s a proper murder mystery running through the good old coming-of-age witchiness, so it’s a bit Wednesday and a bit Vampire Diaries—with a knowing wink rather than a straight face.

Streaming Success and What's Next

It’s not just critics getting swept up—Coven Academy pulled a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and is holding a 79% audience approval, which is rare air for this sort of thing. Barely days into its release, it’s sitting comfortably atop Disney+’s global streaming charts, edging out everything from Loki to the reanimated corpse of Malcolm in the Middle. Over in the US, it’s not only leading Disney+ but even managed to crack the top ten over at Hulu.

Here’s the rub: despite the enormous response, Coven Academy hasn’t actually been renewed for a second season yet. Disney hasn’t given the official green light. That hasn’t stopped creator Tim Federle—veteran of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series—from plotting it all out in his head. He told The Wrap exactly where he’s aiming if given the chance:

I'm dying to see what happens with Jake and Briar next. I'm dying to see, you know, where is Ollie going, and what will happen when he comes back?

So if you want to catch up before the next big genre twist, all 21 bite-sized, bingeable episodes of Coven Academy are sitting there on Disney+ and Hulu, just waiting to take your weekend.