Producer Mary Livanos on ‘Agatha All Along’: The tone of the show is Kathryn Hahn

The executive producer of ‘Agatha All Along’ says it was Kathryn Hahn’s performance in ‘Wanda Vision’ that created the opportunity to tell the Agatha Harkness story

Agatha All Along, the 11th television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), picks up three years after Wanda Vision ended with the witch, Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), trapped in Westview without her powers. When a Goth Teen (Joe Locke), rescues Agatha, she forms a new coven to face the trials of the legendary Witches’ Road and regain her magic.  

“It was the incredible fan response to Kathryn Hahn’s insanely wonderful performance in Wanda Vision that allotted us the opportunity to tell this story,” says Mary Livanos, one of the executive producers of Agatha All Along speaking over a video call at D23, the Disney fan event from Anaheim, California.

Agatha, Mary says, is quite an obscure character in the comic books. “It’s exciting for us at Marvel Studios. Agatha never starred in her own comic book run and is now headlining her own series from Marvel Studios, and that’s a first for us.”

Being a show about a villain and a witch, Mary says, Agatha All Along had to take a darker turn. “This is a celebration of horror and fantasy and we get to celebrate those genres. Like we did with Wanda Vision and sitcoms, we have done with fantasy and horror in Agatha All Along. It has been fun to take all the references around pop culture surrounding witches and put them in a cauldron to help create Agatha All Along.”

When developing the show, Mary says, “We often liked to say that the tone of the show is Kathryn Hahn. She can deliver comedy and tragedy and horror. She can give us all of these incredible shades. We wanted the tone and the palette of the show to reflect all that she was able to give. So though we have music in the show, it is not quite a musical, but we have incredible music moments. We have hilarious comedy and terrifying horror. What all that ends up creating is a roller coaster of an adventure.”

Aubrey Plaza plays the warrior witch, Rio Vidal, in Agatha’s coven. “When we set out to cast the role of Rio Vidal, it was a daunting task. This was a character who shares a dark, complicated and heated history with Agatha Harkness. She holds many of the keys to Agatha’s truth. Agatha is a liar, but Rio, having shared some history with Agatha knows some of her secrets.”

The character, Mary says, is mysterious and dark.  “There’s a lot to be revealed about her over the course of the show. When we were able to speak with Aubrey, who is a complete and total witch herself, we couldn’t have imagined someone more perfect. When she was cast in the role, Aubrey said this was a role she was born to play.

Stepping on the Witches’ Road for the first time, was a momentous occasion for the coven, according to Mary. “We have taken an entirely practical approach to the creation of the show. Everything you see is in camera, there are no green or blue screens. We used miniatures, backdrops and special makeup effects so the environments and the evils the coven faces are entirely real, that they can utilise emotionally.”

The Witches’ Road, Mary says, was their most outstanding set. “It was giant and spooky with layers and layers of fog and mushrooms throughout. There were definitely some tears shed when the witches stepped on the road for the first time.

Agatha All Along streams on Disney+ Hotstar with weekly episodes dropping till October 30

Published - September 19, 2024 04:10 pm IST