Always a Witch is a brand new Netflix Original series that has stirred up some controversy and had critics talking.
Titled Siempre Bruja outside of North America, the series is romantic drama that is reportedly co-produced by Columbian State TV and is about a “time-traveling witch from the 17th century” who “escapes death and finds herself in modern day Cartagena.”
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Many fans have been split over the show, with some loving it and others taking issue with race-related elements that they feel are tone-deaf or insensitive. Critics have not had the easiest time with the show either.
🔈 NEW BYLINE ALERT!!!
— Kayla Marie’s Getting Married (@Maria_Giesela) February 6, 2019
I had a chance to analyze the missteps of the creative team behind Siempre Bruja/Always a Witch and why it’s important to have the right people behind the scenes to tell these stories! Thank you so much @BonMotVivant for your guidance on this piece! //t.co/n2ie891B6h
“After finishing the series, I have more questions now than when I began, the biggest being, what would it look like to have someone properly tell this story? Siempre Bruja has a more than capable cast, who do what they can with the material given,” The AV Club’s Kayla Sutton said of the series.
“It’s clear that when creatives attempt to occupy a space and tell a story that is not their own, they face huge obstacles. Ultimately, Siempre Bruja fails on many fronts, not just representation — the creative team does nothing to subvert a harmful trope or fully explore its most promising idea, that of an Afro-Colombian witch navigating both social and technological change,” she added.
The Daily Dot writer Michelle Jaworski writes, “At first glance, Always a Witch (originally called Siempre Bruja) looked like a worthy addition to the growing (and more inclusive) canon of fictional witches, one that is still largely white. It’s vibrant, dark without taking on the “gritty” or “realistic” color palette that other genres embody— to the benefit of its gorgeous showcase of Cartagena, Colombia — and it features an eclectic cast of characters, including a powerful Afro-Latinx witch front-and-center.”
“But the central romance at the heart of this largely predictable supernatural teen drama (and all of the baggage it brings with it) casts a dark cloud over the series from the start,” she continues.
Finally, Decider writer Joel Keller has a slightly different take on the show, recommending that fans should definitely “stream it.”
“Always A Witch is a charming show about love and magic, and it looks like people of all ages will enjoy it,” he declares.
Netlfix users can stream Season 1 of Always a Witch right now.
