“It’s always Agatha” takes place a few years after the events of “WandaVision” from 2021, in the finale of which Agatha was imprisoned in the town of Westview by the Scarlet Witch. When the witch manages to free herself from the spell, together with a mysterious teenager (Joe Locke), she decides to face a series of trials to regain her power. They will not be able to do it alone, so before the trip they gather a coven. Agatha has to hurry, because the number of people who have unsettled scores with her is long, and at the head of it is the witch Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza).
Agatha Harkness is not a main character in the comics. Unlike Scarlet Witch and Vision, the heroes of “WandaVision”, she has never had her own solo series and has not played a major role in any of the graphic novels. For Schaeffer and her team, however, this was not a problem.
“Since I’ve been working with Marvel, and I’ve been at it for a while, I’ve never started by reading the comics,” the showrunner admitted. “I have a wonderful relationship with the producers who understand it. They’re people who are walking encyclopedias of the Marvel Universe. For me, working on a character who doesn’t have a long comic book history wasn’t a problem. I built on what Kathryn and I had developed on the show.” ‘WandaVision’. We’re taking some of the storylines from the comics and expanding on them in the show. But I’m focusing primarily on what’s been developed in the MCU, not the comics.”
Although It’s Always Agatha is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Schaeffer admitted that she wasn’t focused primarily on making her series a building block that fits into a larger whole. “My job is to make sure that the audience enjoys the ride. I want to entertain them, but also surprise them and move them. But I’m not focused on forcing the show to be ‘Marvelous'” – assured the screenwriter. “I love Marvel fans, their enthusiasm, and their reaction to ‘WandaVision’ and the other projects I’ve worked on have given me a lot, and I’m very grateful for that. My priority is to deliver a top-notch show for them, not to point the way forward for the MCU or wrap up the next phase of it. I have a huge amount of respect for Kevin Feige and the way he’s planned this series, but it’s not always on my mind. I have a responsibility to that, but I also have the privilege of making one TV show and making it as cool as it can be.”
On the set of “Agatha,” Schaeffer reunited with Kathryn Hahn, who received an Emmy nomination for her role as Harkness in “WandaVision.” “My relationship with Kathryn, with any actor really, is about understanding their process of getting into character and being part of it. We have a similar way of working. We both believe in preparation and professionalism. Kathryn puts her all into her roles, literally giving her body, mind and soul. We both feel it. I value our relationship and the sense of security that comes with it,” Schaeffer said.
“It’s Always Agatha” also stars Aubrey Plaza, who is making her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut. “Kathryn and Aubrey have known each other for ‘Parks & Recreation’. Aubrey herself admitted that she took the role to work with Kathryn. She showed up on set full of energy. They couldn’t wait for their first scene together, because in ‘Parks & Rec’ They didn’t have one. They’ve admired each other for so long. I remember when we were shooting the pilot, they both couldn’t wait to start. It was amazing,” the showrunner recalled.
The series also stars Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Debra Jo Rupp and Patti LuPone. Schaeffer says the process of casting the cast was surprisingly easy. “The casting was weird because it went so well. In Agatha’s world, the covens are connected. There’s something about them that draws people together. I felt like that was the case with this project,” she joked. “We cast some of the roles without knowing anything about the actors or actresses. Sasheer Zamata got the part, and I’d never seen her stand-up. I did it later. It turned out she had a big segment on witches. I knew she was interested in it, but when I saw her talk about it, I realized how lucky I was.”
The first episode of “It’s Always Agatha” is in the vein of crime series like “True Detective” and “Mare of Easttown.” Schaeffer admitted that she had been thinking about this idea for a long time.
“It came to me while I was working on ‘WandaVision'” – admitted the scriptwriter. “The entire season was kept in a sitcom style, but one of the last episodes was supposed to be made in a ‘CSI’. Wanda would have to solve a crime to understand what happened to the town of Westview. However, while working on ‘WandaVision’ we realized we should stick to sitcoms. We had a limited time, and a sudden change of genre wouldn’t serve the show.”
Schaeffer also admitted that the clear references to “Mare of Easttown,” HBO’s 2021 crime miniseries starring Kate Winslet, are not accidental.’WandaVision’ got a lot of Emmy nominations, and we did a promotional tour with the team ‘Mare of Easttown’. I became friends with the showrunner of this show. In preparation for ‘Agatha’I dug up that idea for an episode in the style of ‘CSI’ and everything just fell into place. It’s a tribute to ‘Mare of Easttown’but also for ‘Investigations’film ‘Destroyer’ with Nicole Kidman, ‘Detective’… All these productions true crimein which the hero is great at his job, but can’t cope with his private life.”
“I think Agatha is interesting because she’s not a hero at all. She’s capable of doing good, mostly when it benefits her,” she said of her series’ protagonist. “She’s selfish and self-absorbed on one hand, but she’s also funny, intriguing and charismatic — and that’s what I focused on with the other writers. Kathryn’s natural energy and her ability to change moods in a moment, from comedy to drama, helped with that. And we were playing in the sandbox of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but we focused on a character who wasn’t positive.”
Schaeffer announces that thanks to Agatha’s promotion to the forefront, we will get to know her much better than in “WandaVision”. “We will see many previously unexplored parts of Agatha. We will find out who she is and why she is the way she is. For me, that is the heart of the series. Of course, she stood out in ‘WandaVision’but if it’s going to carry the show, it has to have a proper story. And I wanted to explore that with the other writers.”
The first two episodes of the miniseries “It’s Always Agahta” will debut on Disney+ on September 18, 2024. The next ones will be released in weekly intervals, except for the last two, which premiere was announced for October 30. The production consists of nine episodes.