Disney is getting into the Halloween spirit early, and the latest teen drama from High School Musical: The Musical: The Series creator Tim Federle just dropped its full trailer. Set to Olivia Rodrigo's "Brutal," the clip follows a newly minted witch named Briar as she arrives at a New Orleans magic boarding school, where a love triangle and a fledgling vampire await. Here's everything you need to know about Coven Academy before it premieres Oct. 1.
Things to Know
- Coven Academy debuts Thursday, Oct. 1, on Freeform at 8 p.m. EDT/PDT, then streams on Disney+ and Hulu Oct. 2. — Source: Disney+ Press
- The first season has 21 bite-sized chapters, airing in weekly blocks on Freeform but all at once on streaming. — Source: Laughing Place
- Malina Weissman stars as Briar, a New Yorker who discovers she's a witch, opposite Malachi Barton's warlock Jake. — Source: Disney+ Press
- The trailer teases a love triangle among Briar, Jake and Ollie, a newly turned vampire. — Source: Disney+ Press
What the Coven Academy Trailer Shows
The trailer opens with Briar arriving at Crescent Veil Academy, the elite New Orleans boarding school at the heart of the story, and she wastes no time setting expectations. "I don't plan on staying long," Briar says as she walks in. It's a classic new-kid line, but with a coven, a vampire and a love triangle waiting inside, we wouldn't bet on it holding.
As the footage unfolds, Briar (played by Weissman) wrestles with powers she only recently discovered, and each misfire lands her in fresh trouble. According to Disney+ Press, the clip also exposes tension inside the budding coven, fueled by the mystery of Briar's past and the risky pull of Jake.
Then comes the romance. The trailer sets up a love triangle among Briar, Jake and Ollie, and Rodrigo's pop-punk snarl blares over the chaos. The needle drop tells you the tone: loud, messy and unapologetically teenage.
Scroll down for a look at the students, teachers and warlocks stirring up the trouble.
Meet the Cast and Characters
Weissman, best known as Violet Baudelaire in A Series of Unfortunate Events, leads the ensemble as Briar. Barton, the 19-year-old Camp Rock 3 and Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires star, plays Jake, the magnetic warlock with a dangerous edge. Louis Thresher (Boarders) brings the bite as Ollie. Jordan Leftwich (Family Switch) plays Sasha, an empathic student who can read minds, while Ora Duplass (Their Town) plays Tegan, an irreverent, time-bending witch.
The adult cast adds serious nostalgia. Tiffani Thiessen, the 52-year-old Saved by the Bell and White Collar alum, plays Miss Graves, the formidable and glamorous head of school. Devon Sawa, the 48-year-old Final Destination and Chucky star, guest stars as Mr. Cole, a charismatic warlock professor. (Sawa joined the show in February 2026.) The recurring cast includes Keegan Connor Tracy (Once Upon a Time), Swayam Bhatia and Brendon Tremblay.
[PHOTO] Devon Sawa guest stars as warlock professor Mr. Cole in Coven Academy*, which premieres Oct. 1 on Freeform. Disney/David Astorga*
How It Compares to Wednesday
The easiest shorthand for Coven Academy is a Disney-fied Wednesday crossed with Carrie, with vampires thrown in for good measure. Like Netflix's Wednesday, it drops a guarded outsider into a boarding school full of secrets. And Briar's struggle to control her newfound powers gives the trailer a little of Carrie's volatile energy.
Disney's official logline sells a school where "power is currency, secrets are lethal and attraction is a liability," according to the studio's press release. It's a spicier pitch than many Disney fans might expect, and the trailer backs it up. Laughing Place reports the series is intentionally designed to feel older and darker than traditional Disney Channel fare, with more mature themes, contemporary music, practical effects and a cinematic look.
"I wanted to do something with magic that didn't feel too young," Federle told Teen Vogue in August 2026. That mission statement shows in the trailer's moody, grown-up gloss. Federle also pointed to the boarding-school stories he loved growing up, including Toy Soldiers and Dead Poets Society, with a little Harry Potter mixed in.
That blend of nostalgia and edge traces back to the man who dreamed up the coven.
The Creator Behind the Coven
Federle, the 46-year-old best known for High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, wrote and directed the pilot. He executive produces alongside Darren Swimmer, Todd Slavkin, Amanda Row and Bronwyn North-Reist. The series comes from his Chorus Boy Productions in association with Disney Kids & Family, and he's also tied to the upcoming Romy and Michele sequel, per Disney.
When Disney ordered the series in August 2025, Federle said he pitched it as "a love letter to the genre YA shows I grew up on," in a statement. The affection shows in a casting mix that pairs fresh faces with '90s TV favorites like Thiessen and Sawa. (Disney initially slated the show for Disney Channel and Disney+ before moving its premiere to Freeform.)
Production shot in Vancouver from December 2025 through March 2026.
Now for the practical part: when and where to watch.
How and When to Watch
Coven Academy premieres Thursday, Oct. 1, at 8 p.m. EDT/PDT on Freeform, and the full season lands on Disney+, Hulu and Freeform on Demand the next day, Oct. 2. Disney bills the show as a bingeable series built from fast-paced chapters. Freeform will air those chapters in weekly blocks, with nine on Oct. 1, six on Oct. 8 and six on Oct. 15, per Laughing Place, while streamers can watch all 21 at once.
A related series, Locker Diaries: Coven Academy, arrives on Disney+ Oct. 17, with new episodes Oct. 24 and Oct. 31, according to Disney's October lineup.
The show joins a stacked slate of spooky-season viewing. Hulu also gets Adam Scott's Hokum on Oct. 10, per Bigwritehook, and Netflix's Haunted Hotel season 2 returns Oct. 9 with eight new episodes. Gabrielle Union's supernatural horror film Casket Girls just sold US rights at TIFF.
Will There Be a Season 2?
Disney has not announced a second season, and with the premiere 12 days away (as of Sept. 19, 2026), it's too early to expect news. The show's chapter-based rollout across Freeform, Disney+ and Hulu is as much an experiment as its witchcraft. If it works, a return seems like a natural next spell, though that's our read, not an announcement.
Briar may not plan on staying long, but with a love triangle, a hungry new vampire and 21 chapters to binge, we suspect viewers will. Stay tuned to Bigwritehook for more on Coven Academy as the Oct. 1 premiere gets closer.
