Lifetime’s ‘Witches’ Debuts

    “Witches of East End,” inspired by Melissa de la Cruz’s best-selling novel of the same name, will premiere on the Lifetime channel on Sunday at 10 p.m. The series centers on the Beauchamp family, Joanna and her daughters, Freya and Ingrid, who live in the secluded seaside town of North Hampton.

    Although the author has visited the South Fork, lived on Shelter Island, and written a young-adult novel about au pairs here, the series, at least in its first episode, is not overtly tied to the Hamptons except in name. It was shot on location in Wilmington, N.C.

    The drama stars Julia Ormond, who won a prime-time Emmy for her role in the HBO film “Temple Grandin,” as Joanna; Jenna Dewan Tatum, best known as Teresa Morrison in “American Horror Story” as Freya, a sexy and fearless bartender, and Rachel Boston, who played Abigail Chaffee in “In Plain Sight,” as Ingrid, a more reserved librarian.

    Neither daughter is aware of her magical birthright until Freya becomes engaged to Dash Gardiner, a wealthy playboy portrayed by Eric Winter. When Freya finds herself drawn to Dash’s troubled, enigmatic brother Killian, played by Daniel DiTomasso, bizarre occurrences begin to disrupt her life, forcing Joanna to reveal to her daughters that they are immortal witches with untapped powers.

    The novel “Witches of East End,” published in 2011, was Ms. de la Cruz’s first entry in her Beauchamp Family series and her first adult novel. Among the author’s popular young-adult series is “Blue Bloods,” a story about wealthy New Yorkers who are members of an ancient group of vampires, and a companion four-part e-book series called “Wolf Pact.”