If you’ve ever fallen down the rabbit hole of WGN America’s first scripted drama, you know it wasn't exactly your grandma’s history lesson. It was a fever dream of body horror, colonial grime, and high-stakes witchcraft. But what really kept the show from veering into pure camp was the Salem TV series cast. Honestly, the chemistry between the leads was so thick you could cut it with a ritual dagger.
The show wrapped its three-season run back in 2017, but it’s found a second life on streaming. People are rediscovering just how much Janet Montgomery and Shane West carried that weight. It wasn't just a "witch show." It was a messed-up family drama with better costumes.
The Power Players: Mary Sibley and John Alden
At the center of the storm was Janet Montgomery as Mary Sibley. She wasn't just playing a witch; she was playing a woman who had essentially sold her soul—and her unborn child—to survive a Puritan society that wanted to crush her. Montgomery brought this icy, lethal elegance to the role that made you root for her even when she was doing objectively terrible things.
Then you have Shane West as John Alden. Look, if you grew up in the early 2000s, he was already your crush from A Walk to Remember. In Salem, he traded the teen angst for a rugged, war-torn exhaustion. John returns to Salem expecting to find the girl he loved, only to find a woman who’s basically running the town through fear and shadow.
The tension between these two was the show's engine. West’s John Alden was the ultimate skeptic in a town full of zealots, which made his eventual realization of the supernatural threat feel earned. It wasn't just "I see a ghost." It was a slow, painful dismantling of his worldview.
The Supporting Cast That Stole the Show
While the central romance was the hook, the supporting players often did the heaviest lifting in terms of pure weirdness.
Seth Gabel as Cotton Mather
Honestly, Seth Gabel’s performance as Cotton Mather is one of the most underrated things about 2010s television. Historically, Mather was a pretty rigid, influential figure in the trials. In the show? Gabel plays him as a brilliant but deeply broken man struggling with his father’s legacy and his own vices. He spends a lot of time in a brothel, which is a choice. Gabel brings this frantic, nervous energy to the role that makes you genuinely pity a guy who is technically one of the "bad guys" early on.
Tamzin Merchant as Anne Hale
Anne starts as the "innocent" of the group, but her arc is probably the most tragic. Tamzin Merchant plays that descent into darkness with a lot of nuance. She begins as a girl who just wants to do the right thing and ends up becoming something far more dangerous. It’s a classic "road to hell is paved with good intentions" situation.
Ashley Madekwe as Tituba
Tituba is a character that often gets sidelined in historical retellings, but here, Ashley Madekwe makes her a strategist. She’s Mary’s mentor and sometimes her keeper. Their relationship is complicated—part friendship, part mutual survival pact, part manipulation.
Elise Eberle as Mercy Lewis
If you want to talk about "going for it," we have to talk about Elise Eberle. Her portrayal of Mercy Lewis was unsettling. She went from a victim of a demonic possession to a terrifying, power-hungry cult leader in her own right. The physical acting Eberle did—especially in the possession scenes—was genuinely creepy.
The Heavy Hitters: Stephen Lang and Lucy Lawless
Season 2 and 3 really ramped up the star power. Stephen Lang showed up as Increase Mather, Cotton's father, and he was terrifying. Lang has this way of commanding a scene just by standing there. He was the personification of the rigid, unyielding Puritan law.
Then there’s Lucy Lawless as Countess Marburg. Look, it's Xena. But a very, very old and very, very evil Xena. She brought a sense of ancient, European "Old World" witchcraft to the show that made the local Salem witches look like amateurs.
Why the Salem TV Series Cast Worked So Well
Most supernatural shows fail because the actors don't believe in the world they're in. You can see the wink at the camera. In Salem, the cast played it straight. They treated the horror as reality.
- Shane West recently mentioned on social media (late 2025) that he’d be down for a revival. The fans are still there.
- Janet Montgomery has stayed busy with New Amsterdam, but for many, she’ll always be Mary Sibley.
- The production was filmed in Shreveport, Louisiana, and the cast often talked about how the swampy, humid atmosphere helped them stay in that gritty, 17th-century mindset.
What to Do If You’re a New Fan
If you're just getting into the show or revisiting it because you saw a clip of Marilyn Manson (who plays Thomas Dinley in Season 3, by the way), here is the best way to appreciate the ensemble:
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- Watch for the subtle shifts: Pay attention to how Janet Montgomery’s posture changes when Mary is around the Puritans versus when she’s alone with Tituba.
- Follow the Mather arc: Keep a close eye on Seth Gabel. His performance in Season 2, specifically his chemistry with Tamzin Merchant, is peak TV.
- Check the "Before they were famous" roles: It's fun to see actors like Xander Berkeley (Magistrate Hale) who have been in everything from The Walking Dead to 24 doing something so stylized.
The show was canceled too soon. That’s the consensus. But the 36 episodes we got are a masterclass in how a dedicated cast can turn a genre show into something that feels like high-stakes literature. If you're looking for where the actors are now, most are still active in major series, but their time in the woods of Massachusetts remains a cult classic highlight.
If you haven't seen it in a while, it's worth a rewatch just to see Stephen Lang and Seth Gabel chew the scenery together. It's rare to see a father-son dynamic that's that toxic and that entertaining.
Start by streaming the pilot again on Hulu or Shudder and pay attention to how they introduce John Alden’s return—it sets the tone for everything that follows.