Posted in: Marvel, TV | Tagged: agatha all along, disney

Agatha All Along Cast, Schaeffer on Respecting Pop Culture Witches

Agatha All Along Showrunner Jac Schaeffer and the cast on the Marvel Television series paying its respect to pop culture witches and more.

Jac Schaeffer has built quite an impressive legacy at Marvel since helping to write Scarlett Johansson's swan song (for now) to the MCU on her 2021 solo film Black Widow and developing the Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany-starred limited series WandaVision, a mix of surreal mystery and homage to television sitcom past. Olsen's Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch, conceived a fantasy world within the small town of Westview, much to the suffering of its residents under her spell. Introduced in the series was Kathryn Hahn's Agatha Harkness, who uses her powers to help Wanda keep up her fantasy while manipulating her until the tables are turned. Wanda steals Agatha's powers, which leads us to the Schaeffer-run upcoming spinoff Agatha All Along, which started as the character's theme song in WandaVision and evolved to the official series title for the Hahn-starred series. Schaeffer and Hahn spoke to Entertainment Weekly about what to expect from the show and inspiration for their journey.

Showrunner Jac Schaeffer and Star Kathryn Hahn on the Madness of 'Agatha All Along'

Schaeffer explained how they're tapping into iconic pop culture witches of the past like The Wizard of Oz's Elphaba and Glinda. "We're a little squirrelly with it," she said. "We take some liberties." Agatha All Along follows the title character as she breaks free from the spell Wanda used to trap her in Westview with help from the mysterious "Teen" (Joe Locke), a goth teen. Determined to regain her powers, Agatha assembles a coven consisting of divination witch Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone), potions expert Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata), protector witch Alice Wu-Gulliver (Alice Ahn), warrior witch Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza), and Westfield resident Mrs. Hart (Debra Jo Rupp reprising her role from WandaVision).

Together, they must face a series of trials placing the coven in a different attire that emulates a particular witch from pop culture. One such trail involves the coven dressed up like Fleetwood Mac with Hahn's Agatha dressed up as Stevie Nicks. "We're in 'Season of the Witch' and that kind of thing," Schaeffer said. "It doesn't have that same abundantly clear thread, but it was our system to be able to pull that fun into the show." "There's so much detail in every set. Even the fact that it's a five-sided room," Locke adds, alluding to the set design's pentagram shape. "It is not a musical, but music is definitely another texture to it."

For more, including other witch inspirations, Hahna and LuPone dressing up as Elphaba and Glinda, distinguishing how Schaffer focuses on world-building with Agatha All Along with new characters compared to what the framework she had in WandaVision, you can check out the entire interview. Agatha All Along will have its two-episode premiere on August 18 on Disney+ with new episodes on Wednesdays.

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