Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Spellbound’ on Hulu, A Comedy-Fantasy Where A Young Ballet Dancer Training In Paris Learns She’s A Powerful Witch

In Spellbound, which just dropped its first 13-episode season in full on Hulu, a 15-year-old dancer from Boston is super excited to have been accepted into the prestigious Paris Opera Ballet School, only to arrive in France and discover she’s actually a witch. What? Make it make sense: Spellbound is from creators Jill Girling and Lori Mather, whose series Ride saw an American teenager landing in England to study at an equestrian school. Not only that, but Spellbound is also the spiritual successor series to Find Me in Paris (all three seasons remain on Hulu), which was also created by Girling and Mather and also took place at Paris Opera Ballet School after a ballerina from 1909 time-traveled there. So grab your pointe shoes and get ready for something a little bit zany and pretty much delightful.   

SPELLBOUND: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT? 

Opening Shot: We see an exterior shot of the regal Palais Garnier opera house as it is enveloped in thunder, lighting, and an eerie purple glimmer. 

The Gist: “What is happening right now?” asks a confused Cece Parker Jones (Hailey Romain) as two young women she doesn’t know frantically lead her away from her ballet studies. And as they run onto the opera house’s main floor, purple smoke billows from porticos and around every gilded column. Her companions might be new to Cece. But Lola (Gomolémo Tsagaé) and Amy (Imogen Mackie Walker) know all about her. She’s “The Wise One.” And she’s right here in Paris.

Let’s go back to the beginning. Cece is overjoyed to be attending the Paris Opera Ballet School, and posts a gushy VidTik (read: TikTok) to that effect. Right away she meets friendly fellow dancers Jack Ryder (Sam Darius) and Finn Cassidy (Zac Gabriel Werb), quickly convenes with Simone Souter (Margi Barbieri), her new bestie she got to know online over the summer, and gets a quick lesson in POBS hierarchy from Mia Banks (Abigail O’Regan), who’s got no time for newbies. “While you were video chatting, I was rehearsing. That’s what separates the dilettantes from the pros.” Cece also encounters Benoit Ducasse (Éttiene Moana). Handsome and haughty, he’s the best dancer in their program.

But there’s a problem. As school director Armando Castillo explains – Castillo is played by Rik Young, whose character is a kind of soft crossover from Find Me in Paris – an administrative error means that there are now 26 dancers for only 16 spots. Everyone will have to reaudition for their place, dancing to the opening of Don Quixote. It’s a repertoire piece, so they won’t need much time to prepare. Only it’s not in Cece’s personal repertoire, because back in Boston her teacher encouraged everyone to freestyle. And freestyle does not translate to the technique-specific demands of the historic Paris Opera Ballet School.

What’s Cece to do? Go ask Aunt Ginger (Raven Dauda) for advice, naturally. And that’s when Cece and Simone stumble onto a secret the Jones women have held for generations: they are witches, known as “wizens,” and Cece is the most powerful of them all. Of course she doesn’t believe it at first – Cece’s mom throttled her powers at five years old, when she apparently blew up a building with her mind – and Ginger tries to laugh it off. And besides, Cece’s too distracted by the cuteness of a young guy named Adrian (Cameron James-King) she meets at her aunt’s apothecary shop. But the witch stuff is hard to ignore once Lola and Amy show up, and all of that purple smoke starts swirling through the Palais Garnier. “This,” Cece says in voiceover, “has been the craziest day of my life.”

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The story elements of Find Me in Paris are given a witchy spin in Spellbound, but the outright fun and pleasant zaniness has stayed the same. And there’s Emily in Paris, of course, though that’s for a slightly older crowd. What Spellbound actually reminds us of most are two series that Netflix criminally canceled: Warrior Nun and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. And who could think of a coven secretly running a dancing school without thinking of Suspiria? Though this one is not even remotely as violent or flat out insane as either Dario Argento or Luca Guadagnino’s version.

Our Take: It doesn’t make sense at first, as Spellbound presents a few bits of supernatural hijinks before shifting gears into what seems like it’ll be a coming-of-age tale. But by the end of its first episode, which flies by at less than a half-hour, it has all been tied together by a young cast that’s clearly having lots of fun. Throw in a few bits of social media savvy chatter, the kind of romantic possibilities that emerge on the first day of camp or at the beginning of a new school semester, the City of Light as its backdrop, and lots of enjoyably weird witch content – a family tome of spells, endearingly cheesy visual effects, and a duality of magic forces inserting themselves into the everyday while battling for supremacy – and Spellbound had us on board in no time at all. 

We’re particularly interested in the world building. The tidbits Spellbound has already dropped are truly tantalizing. Did Aunt Ginger really say that Cece blew up a building with her mind at just five years old? What’s that about? And if Cece’s mom really cast a spell to get her into the Paris Opera Ballet School, what are the wizen rules and regulations regarding personal gain in witchcraft? Why do Lola and Amy already know about Cece? Is the arrival of “The Wise One” in Paris part of a prophecy? So many questions! And we haven’t even entertained how Cece and her freestyle dance moves will fare inside the cutthroat practice rooms of the POBS. We’ll be watching to find out how this powerful young wizen emerges, and embraces her talent for both ballet and spells.    

Sex and Skin: Nothing here except lots of googly eyes between the fresh-faced young dancers at the POBS.

Parting Shot: With Lola and Amy tugging on her arms to get her to flee, Cece is instead consumed by the smoke and lightning we saw at the outset of Spellbound. Or is she? Her wizen powers might not be fully manifested, but they’re definitely in play, and another person she’s only just met seems intent on destroying her before they awaken fully. 

Sleeper Star: The cast members of Spellbound are mostly newcomers, but there’s an immediate sense of chemistry between them as their characters settle into life at the Paris Opera Ballet School, and the who’s who inside its social hierarchy is established.  

Most Pilot-y Line: Gazing at the mason jars and oddball knick-knacks inside W Apothecary, the healthy and beauty chain Cece’s mom founded that’s grown to international fame, Simone is duly impressed. “This is where the magic happens,” she murmurs, because she loves W’s hand creams. Which of course is the understatement of the year, because W Apothecary is also where actual magic happens as a front for the wizens’ potion-crafting ways.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Led by a delightful young cast, Spellbound brings a dash of flirtation and lots of quirky charm to the potion-making table as it combines the study of ballet with revelations of witchcraft. 

Johnny Loftus is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift. Follow him on Twitter: @glennganges