Who Are the Mayfairs?
What do you get when you take an incredibly long line of powerful witches and mix them with the beauty and mystery of New Orleans? Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches, of course. This family may have birthed matriarchs with their own unique, unbelievable powers, but it’s the Mayfair’s intergenerational connection to an ancient entity named Lasher that forever connects them to Scotland and the pain of their predecessors.  
The Characters
Rowan Mayfair (Alexandra Daddario) is a brilliant neurosurgeon with a rebellious streak when we first meet her in Season 1. By Season 2, she’s discovered that she’s the 13th witch in a powerful line of witches that span across generations and countries. She now stands as the head of the Mayfair family and is doing her best to protect her family from her offspring… the physical embodiment of Lasher.  
Lasher (Jack Huston) is a powerful entity that has been bound to the Mayfairs for generations. Although he has brought the family great wealth, he’s also manipulated them into incredibly devious behavior to the detriment of many.
Cortland Mayfair (Harry Hamlin) is currently the patriarch of the Mayfair family. Cortland’s thirst for more power and wealth have always motivated his subservience to Lasher, but this season we see how his relationship with his own father, Julien, may have played a part as well.
Moira Mayfair (Alyssa Jirrels) is Rowan’s cousin and the sister of Tessa. She has the power to read minds. Moira blames Tessa’s death on Lasher and is seeking revenge.
Sam ‘Lark’ Larkin (Ben Feldman) is Rowan’s ex-boyfriend. Lark is the successful CEO of a genetics firm and after Rowan reaches out to him for a favor, he re-enters her life.
The Plot
What’s the story of the Mayfairs? The story of the Mayfairs begins in Scotland with the original matriarch, Suzanne Mayfair. She was the one who started it all. She calls forth Lasher and cements the eternal pact between the Mayfairs and Lasher. In each generation, there is one Mayfair family member who can communicate, command, and see Lasher. That family member is known as the designee.   
What happened in Season 1? In Season 1 Rowan discovered her powers and came to know key members of the Mayfair family. She resisted her powers at first, but as designee her unique relationship with Lasher really pushed her into fully accept her powers — both light and dark. By season’s end she’s also accepted her role in the prophecy that the 13th witch will become “the door” to the physical manifestation of Lasher… arriving to this plane as her own progeny!
Who’s Julien? Usually the Mayfair designees are women, but for his generation Julien was the designee and indeed a powerful witch. Julien is Cortland’s father. This season Julien is important because in order for Rowan to save her family and her home, the key may lie with him.
Now that you’re all caught up, are you ready to embrace the darkness? Watch a Season 2 preview below and dive into the new season of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches now.