Famous for its heightened teen shows, the CW has found its niche. This is not a strange phenomenon as before the channel was the CW, it was the WB. The network was famous for popular shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed. This trend continued with the success of The Vampire Diaries when the CW took over the network. Along with the vampire trend came witches.
Witches have come into vogue with the popularity of American Horror Story: Coven and Netflix’s The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. The CW seems to have a plethora of witch content, including rebooting '90s hit Charmed. Witches are unavoidable and crop up in many shows. Each is more powerful than the last.
Bonnie Bennett (The Vampire Diaries)
Bonnie’s contribution to The Vampire Diaries is indisputable. First introduced as Elena’s best friend, Bonnie turns from cynic to the most powerful person in Mystic Falls. Descended from a powerful line of witches, it is up to Bonnie to save Mystic Falls time and time again. After discovering her lineage, Bonnie’s powers escalate quickly. She is the only person who comes close to killing Klaus.
She sacrifices herself on multiple occasions to save her friends. She continues to fight her way back to the living. She becomes an anchor to the Other Side. Even after she loses her powers for what seems like the final time, she regains them in the last season and with her ancestors, saves Mystic Falls from hellfire.
The Charmed Ones (Charmed)
Charmed aired from 1998-2008 and had a revolving door of witches. Initially, the show aired on the WB but changed over to the CW in the later seasons. After Prue’s death in season 3, the Charmed Ones' final lineup is Piper, Phoebe, and Paige. They are famous for being the strongest coven of witches in their world. This attracts many levels of evil, including demons to attempt to destroy them.
Each one of them has their own specific set of powers. While each is powerful, they are at their strongest when together. Almost nothing can defeat them when they recite their Power of Three spells.
Tracy (Supernatural)
The take on witches in Supernatural is based on old lore. Witches typically have sold their souls to obtain their power and cause them to commit evil acts. One of the evilest acts on Supernatural was the attempt to open the gate to hell in season 4. A witch named Tracy plans to resurrect Samhain, which breaks one of the 66 seals and will bring Lucifer to earth.
Tracy is successful in her goal and meanwhile wreaks havoc in the small town on Halloween. Samhain is resurrected, making Tracy’s power all that much more impressive. This is another failed attempt at the brothers trying to stop the gates of hell from opening.
Esther (The Vampire Diaries)
In The Vampire Diaries lore, Esther is the Original Witch. She is often mentioned before she appears onscreen. On the Other Side, the paranormal limbo for supernatural creatures, she pulls the strings and attempts to manipulate events in the real world. When she manifests in Mystic Falls, she reveals herself to be the mother to Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah. It is because of her that vampires are possible.
To save her children when they were human, she cast a spell making them invulnerable and the result was vampirism. All future vampires are descended from the Originals. Esther blames herself for monsters on earth and is so ruthless and adamant that what she did was wrong, she is committed to killing her children.
Cassie Blake (The Secret Circle)
The short-lived The Secret Circle contained a coven of witches, each with varying degrees of power. Cassie only learned of her power once she moves back to Chance Harbor after the death of her mother. Even though she is the newest member of the circle, her magic quickly grows to be the strongest.
Cassie learns that her lineage has a dark secret. Her father is descended from the Balcoin line, notorious for their use of black magic. Even when the circle is bound, Cassie can access her father’s dark magic and sets someone on fire who is trying to kill her.
Kai Parker (The Vampire Diaries)
The Gemini Coven is one of the many covens featured in The Vampire Diaries. Known for the power they gain for using twin children for power, the Gemini’s legacy resulted in Kai Parker. One of the groups of twins meant to take over the coven, Kai’s madness grew with his power.
Considered an abomination, he can only use magic if he siphons it from other magical creatures. This causes him to murder most of his family and be condemned to a prison world. However, his ingenuity is so great that he consistently finds a way out of the prison world and eventually Hell itself.
Diana Meade (The Secret Circle)
Diana is another one of Jack Blackwell’s children in The Secret Circle. Like Cassie, she can utilize the black magic of the Balcoin line. This was kept a secret for most of her life, thinking that Charles Meade was her biological father.
Not only does she have the potential for exponential power, but she is also the leader of the Chance Harbor circle. She is the first one to find her Book of Shadows and collects the remainder of the coven. Kind as she is in control, Diana is the best person to lead the circle.
Macy Vaughn (Charmed)
The reboot of Charmed generally picks up where the original left off. The powers of the Charmed Ones remain the same except for the youngest sister. Instead of the power of premonition, the youngest sister is telepathic. However, the oldest sister Macy has the most potential for power.
Macy was the result of a stillborn birth but she was resurrected through Necromancy and made her part demon. This gives her more dark ability as opposed to the rest of her sisters.
Freya Mikaelson (The Originals)
Freya first appears in season 2 of The Originals. She is the firstborn daughter of Esther and Mikael and takes after her mother’s talent in witchcraft. She is as powerful as her mother since she is descended from the first generation of witches.
Esther gave Freya to Dahlia as payment to conceive her other children. Freya takes after her mother and Dahlia often had to soothe her unpredictable powers. She later puts Freya in an enchanted sleep so she can benefit from Freya’s immeasurable power. During this curse, Freya becomes more powerful than any normal witch and becomes immortal.
John Blackwell (The Secret Circle)
All the issues in The Secret Circle stem from John Blackwell’s use of black magic. His ancestor Francis Balcoin was found out for his dark magic uses. History thought the Balcoin line to be eradicated. Instead, they changed their name to Blackwell and continued their dark magic practices.
Blackwell was the reason for the boat fire and becomes power-hungry. He sows his magic by reproducing his line as Cassie and Diana are from his line as well as four more unnamed children. Blackwell’s dark magic and lack of morality make him incredibly dangerous.