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Associated Press

As she reprises her role as the witch everyone loves to hate, Kathryn Hahn says it “makes total sense” she is continuing the story.
The Agatha All Along star, who first introduced Agatha Harkness to the world in the hit 2021 Marvel series WandaVision, says the rich complexity of her character excites her.
“It’s so juicy. You can see her as a simple bad witch, but she’s not. No one is bad,” Hahn says.
“There’s always something that they’re covering up that they put all these levels on top of, so the fun was trying to keep the mask on with all these meteors of truth banging at that core,” she adds.


The Marvel Television series, which is streaming on Disney+, picks up after WandaVision as Agatha forms a makeshift coven to travel down the mythical Witches’ Road on a quest to regain her powers.
Although Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch captured Agatha’s magic in WandaVision, Hahn says she has felt empowered by the role.
A symbol that has become a crucial part of her character is the Neopagan triple goddess – the maiden, mother and crone as depicted on a brooch Agatha wears in both shows. Hahn says these symbols of transformation in the female life cycle have been reflected in her own life.

“I did feel, walking into this, like I was going to be walking through a portal into my crone area, whatever that means, and it did feel very powerful to feel wise while walking through this journey as a woman,” Hahn says.
Beyond references to Neopaganism, Wiccan culture and other witchy motifs, Agatha All Along is ripe with allusions. Several films, television shows and musical groups permeate the show’s otherwise spooky aesthetic, but none appear more prominently than The Wizard of Oz.
Everybody is such a powerhouse in their own right that it was very easy to come to work
Kathryn Hahn on filming Agatha All Along
Jac Schaeffer, the series’ head writer, director and executive producer who also created and wrote WandaVision, says the 1939 film felt like a natural touchstone. “We’re in the land of witches,” she says.
“Early on, it was clear that it needed to be a quest structure. And for me, the movies of my childhood that I love so much are all quests,” Schaeffer says. “Once we were sort of locked into that as the structure, it was like, ‘How many allusions can we bring in and what makes sense and what’s delightful, what’s witchy enough for us?’”
Schaeffer says the series also alludes to the rock band Fleetwood Mac, actress Kate Winslet in the gritty crime drama Mare of Easttown, and Big Little Lies, which she describes as a “prestige lady drama soap” where everyone has “sweaters and good hair”. She says the group on that show, led by Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, are a coven in their own right.

In addition to borrowing from WandaVision’s propensity for allusions and replicating aesthetics, Agatha All Along also features another catchy tune the cast sings throughout the series.
Hahn, along with the ensemble cast, which includes Patti LuPone, Aubrey Plaza, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn and Debra Jo Rupp, sing a memorable song that opens a door to The Witches’ Road.
Emmy-winning songwriting duo Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, who also wrote the viral sensation Agatha All Along song for WandaVision, penned the tune.
Although some cast members say they were initially nervous to sing in front of LuPone, a Broadway legend, the three-time Tony winner insisted everyone in the cast could sing and blend their voices well.
“It’s magical to be in a chorus. Sometimes, the fates just align. Each member of this coven did have to pick up instruments or we did have to sing, and it all sounds great,” LuPone says. “Sometimes, things are fated. I think this was fated.”

The tight-knit bonds of the on-screen coven seem to have carried over off camera, as well. Hahn says the group developed a close bond during the shoot in Atlanta, in the United States.
“Everybody is such a powerhouse in their own right that it was very easy to come to work. Everyone stepped up because we were all so excited to be working with each other,” Hahn says.
“We were just sitting in a circle on the stage every day, just telling stories and talking about what food we’re going to eat next. It just became a dream.”
Although Schaeffer once thought WandaVision would be a “huge flop”, the writer-director says she feels confident in the show.
“What WandaVision taught me is it all kind of shakes out,” she says. “Not everyone will be satisfied, but the majority of people, I think what they really want is the ride and I feel confident that’s what we’re providing with Agatha.”


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Kathryn Hahn in a still from Agatha All Along. Photo: Marvel-Disney+ via AP

Kathryn Hahn at the Agatha All Along premiere in Los Angeles, in September 2024. The actress talks about how reprising her role as a witch made her feel “very powerful” and why she enjoyed acting and singing with her fellow cast members. Photo: EPA-EFE

Hahn in a still from Agatha All Along. Photo: Marvel-Disney+ via AP

Patti LuPone in a still from Agatha All Along. Photo: Marvel-Disney+ via AP

Aubrey Plaza in a still from Agatha All Along. Photo: Marvel-Disney+ via AP

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The actress talks about her ‘journey as a woman’ and singing with a ‘dream’ cast in this show referencing Nicole Kidman to The Wizard of Oz


The actress talks about her ‘journey as a woman’ and singing with a ‘dream’ cast in this show referencing Nicole Kidman to The Wizard of Oz.


Disney+

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Marvel