Why Motherland:Fort Salem is Worth a Watch

Being quarantined means that we all have more time to go through our Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and HBO lists. My friends have been recommending me new tv-shows and movies pretty much non-stop since the stay-at-home orders. Motherland: Fort Salem was one of those tv-shows, and now it is my turn to convince you to put it on your list as well!

The show originally premiered on Freeform, but can also be watched on Hulu. So far there are only 7 out of 10 episodes of the 1st season out right now, which means that unfortunately you finish binging fairly quickly. There is also no confirmation of a second season yet, but my hopes are that Freeform gives the show a chance to prove itself. Although the show is categorized as a supernatural drama series, it is much more than that. It is definitely supernatural and definitely also dramatic, but it also has some aspects of a suspenseful show with some comedy to it. If that does not convince you yet, keep on reading!

Motherland: Fort Salem takes place in a women-dominated world where witches in the United States were not burned to death several hundred years ago thanks to the "Salem Accord". Ever since then, the U.S. Army only existed of witches who use their voices as their powers to fight. In particular, they are currently at war with what they call "the Spree". The Spree is a kind of terrorist organization that kills (mostly) civilians to protest against witches being used in the military. In the first episode, Raelle Collar, Abigail Bellweather, and Tally Craven enlist in the U.S. military, and we follow them on their journey to learn how to use their powers effectively to fight in the wars. What they don't know yet is that not everyone they meet along the way has good intentions, and that sometimes the people they trust are not who they say they are.

The story itself might sound interesting already, but it is the way that its told that makes a difference to me. There are so many layers to uncover, so many stories from the past and the present that have to be told to fully understand the characters' actions and intentions. You learn a lot along the way with these three main characters, which makes it so interesting. This is not the type of tv-show where you can clearly see where the story is heading, you are completely in the dark and surprised with every new turn that the story takes. This is the type of show where you have 100 different theories in your head and it still leads in a direction that you were not expecting.

Because the world of Motherland: Fort Salem is women-dominated, all of the main characters are also women which is very refreshing to see. From left to right on the picture: Amalia Holm, Jessica Sutton, Taylor Hickson, Ashley Nicole Williams, Demetria McKinney, and Lyne Renée. Not only that, these actresses originate from various different countries such as Sweden, South Africa, Canada, the US, and Belgium respectively. Of course, there are also male actors on the show that leave an impression, namely Kai Bradbury and Nick E. Tarabay. To make it even better, there is LGBTQ+ representation from the very start, and this is a storyline that is written in such a natural way that does not particularly distinguish the LGBTQ+ relationships from the heterosexual ones (again, very refreshing to see).

In short, if you are looking for strong women on your tv- or computer screen that sometimes use some magic against the bad guys, this might be exactly what you are looking for!

Motherland: Fort Salem comes out every Wednesday at 9p/8c on Freeform.