Meet the lesbian witches who are about to become your new TV obsession

Two lesbian witches are about to take over your TV – and we’re so here for it.

A Discovery of Witches, which is coming to Sky 1 later this year, will feature Sarah Bishop, a powerful lesbian witch played by Doctor Who and Arrow star Alex Kingston.

Together with her partner, another witch called Emily Mather, Sarah raises her niece Diana, teaching her how to use her powers to fight in a centuries-old struggle between supernatural beings.

The show, which is based on Deborah Harkness’s bestselling book of the same name, will also include enigmatic geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont, played by Downton Abbey‘s Matthew Goode.

Jane Tranter, executive producer of the Bad Wolf production company, said: “A Discovery of Witches is a bold contemporary love story beautifully adapted by Kate Brooke from the books by Deborah Harkness.

“We can’t wait to introduce fans of the novels to our cast and to bring in a whole new audience to these extraordinary stories.”

Thankfully you won’t have to wait until later this year, as you can already see multiple lesbian and bisexual women on TV, with the medium starting to catch up with society.

In March, US channel Freeform launched Siren, a show about a bisexual mermaid called Ryn who appears in a small fishing town and starts laying waste to its inhabitants and their relationships.

At one point, Ryn – who transforms at will between being a human and a sea creature – kisses marine biologist Maddie Bishop, played by Fola Evans-Akingbola.

Black Lightning, on Netflix and The CW, has Anissa Pierce, a black lesbian medical student, teacher and – as it turns out – superhero by the name of Thunder.

Nafessa Williams, who plays the fiercely passionate activist and hero, said in March that the creation and support of black superheroes in Hollywood has resulted in an exciting “wave” of representation that is only just beginning.

Marvel’s Runaways also features a lesbian superhero, in the shape of Karolina Dean, a main character who slowly realises her sexuality while also figuring out her powers.

And Freeform’s The Bold Type, a US drama about women who work at a feminist magazine in New York City, features a Muslim lesbian getting together with a queer black woman.

The show attracted praise for its representation of a lesbian couple involving two women of colour, one of whom unapologetically embraces their faith without feeling guilty about their sexuality.

Watch a trailer for the show here: