'Agatha All Along' showrunner reveals comedic inspiration, 'distinct' set design
MANILA, Philippines — Marvel director Jac Schaeffer went deep into how her team on "Agatha All Along" created the production and costume design of Marvel Studio's latest show.
"Agatha All Along" is a spin-off show of "WandaVision" centered on Kathryn Hahn's Agatha Harkness, who forms a new coven in an attempt to regain her magical powers.
Making up the ragtag coven are Hahn's co-stars Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Debra Jo Rupp, Patti LuPone, and Aubrey Plaza.
Key to the story is the Witches' Road — trials that rewards a witch if won with something they are missing.
In an exclusive interview, Philstar.com asked Schaeffer how she managed to differentiate the look of each tasks and how each trial added characterization to the environment.
Schaeffer appeared thrilled to hear the question about someone being hooked into the show's production design, stressing the word "enamored" was one of her favorites.
"An enormous amount of work went into these distinct worlds that are inside the show," Schaeffer said. "We had so much fun on 'WandaVision' and I wanted to do that again for myself, [but] we needed to find a new system to create the distinct worlds.
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The director referred to how a majority of episodes on "WandaVision" were inspired by sitcoms and television tropes through the decades, like "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "I Love Lucy," "Bewitched," "The Brady Bunch," "Malcolm in the Middle," and "Modern Family."
The filmmaker explained that each trial on the Witches' Road is catered to each witch in the coven, begging the question on the kind of spaces each witch wanted to create.
As a lover of juxtaposition, she shared an early idea for the third episode was one inspired by Nancy Meyers or "Big Little Lies," "That, let's get our witches in there and see them in grandma coastal chic."
Schaeffer said the trials are a coven space, "Every time you gather powerful women, that's what happens," and that the situation changes from character to character.
The fourth episode is what Schaeffer described as "the Fleetwood Mac rocker world" but mixed with "Suspiria" and "Seasons of the Witch."
"We try really hard to fold all these ideas together, it's not as distinct and prescriptive as 'WandaVision,' it's a little looser but I'm hoping that fans will, on a gut level, understand why we're pulling these allusions in," Schaeffer ended.
"Agatha All Along" premieres its first two episodes on Disney+ this September 18, with the remaining seven episodes coming out weekly until November 6.
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