Agatha All Along- Drama Series

Having caused chaos and ended Wanda Maximoff’s perfect family life in the two-part finale, beloved nosey witch Agatha returns for a nine-part spinoff. This series is created by Jac Schaeffer and stars Kathryn Hahn alongside a cast which includes Patti LuPone, Aubrey Plaza, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn and Debra Jo Rupp.

Patti LuPone

The Lane Company’s Tony award for best actress brought broadway character Patti LuPone apparent fame after playing Joanne in Stephen Sondheim’s Company but, contributed in a great number of other productions. These include: Michael Frayn’s Noises Off, NY Philharmonic’s plays Candide, amongst plenty others. A member of the inaugural Dramas division of Julliard which graduated in 1972 with distinguished members Kevin Kline and David Ogden Stiers, LuPone most recently graduated from Juilliard.

As a diviner and tarot reader, LuPone’s character Lilia in Agatha All Along is portrayed as a self-sustained 450 Phenomenal Sicilian witch. Having found her place in the group of the downtrodden witches headed by Agatha, she is accompanied by Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata) the owner of a candle shop, psychic Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn), and Mrs. Hart, a Westview resident with no supernatural powers.

Hahn, Locke, LuPone, and Plaza all channel their natural skills into their roles, creating a coven that feels like it came straight out of a queer theatre kid’s dream journal. The show’s visual design, which is largely courtesy of Daniel Selon, also adds to the welcoming, campy atmosphere of the new series. Apart from some slow patches, Agatha All Along is an acceptable start for the Marvel’s 2024’s TV schedule.

Aubrey Plaza

One of the things that makes Agatha All Along so fascinating is the fact that it doesn’t turn away from such sterner subjects as life and death and age as an absolute growing older. This isn’t something that the show can manage with every cast of characters though because it is aided by a bunch of tired witches helping Agatha’s cause.

Jac Schaeffer assembles a remarkable team of actresses to play the Salem Seven: Sicilian divination witch Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone); cancelled beauty influencer/potions expert Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata); daughter of a rockstar turned witch, Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn) who has brought her back to life and Mrs. Hart (Debra Jo Rupp), a powerless resident of westview.

Starting with Hahn, she continues to be the standout actor in any role as she dons a comedic cloak for the darkly nuanced Agatha Harkness, a character she used to play on WandaVision and is seen taking the show at numerous points throughout the series without competing for it. She did this when a suspect in one of her interrogations attempted to break free and got kicked by a chair during the process or when she made a gay groupie played by Joe Locke to be her follower. Everything just seems to be better with her around. Also, she plays a meaner version of her role Rio Vidal on all her enhancements, as a green witch who mixes spells that Wynchel would likely require while on Witches Mountain.

Sasheer Zamata

Zamata is known to fans of Marvel for starring in some of their major projects like Spider-Man: Into the Multiverse and Tiny Beautiful Things, and considering the performances she has delivered, she is a SNL and Broadway star at heart. In Agatha All Along, she plays Jennifer Kale – a member of Agatha’s sorcerous order, who is blanked out from the coven. She says, ‘It’s cool to be in a show that’s exploring so many cool female themes and queer themes. The show has some captivating plotting and interactions between characters.

To recap the events of WandaVision, Kathryn Hahn once again assumes the role of the wicked witch Agatha Harkness in the new series, Agatha All Along. In this follow up, Agatha is left powerless after her battle with the Scarlet Witch. The Sicilian divination witch Lilia Calderu, played by Patti LuPone, portrays Agatha Harkness which follows her on her journey to regain her powers.

Jac Schaeffer, who was the creator and writer of WandaVision, is the a director of Agatha All Along as well. He is also joined by a dynamic cast of artists like Debra Jo Rupp from That 70’s Show and Billions who plays Sharon Davis, a resident of Westview, Okwui Okpokwasili from HBO series The Leftovers who plays the clairvoyant Maria Dizzia, Ali Ahn from the Raising Dion series, and Billions and Orange Is the New Black as guardian witch Alice Wu-Gulliver and finally Aubrey Plaza who plays the feisty warrior Rio Vidal.

Ali Ahn

You can see Ali Ahn play Alice Wu-Gulliver in Agatha All Along, and you might also recognize her from Raising Dion, Billions, and Orange Is the New Black. Ah also has a slew of short films under her belt.

While Jac Schaeffer’s spinoff doesn’t quite reach the purple-magic heights of WandaVision, it certainly captures a spooky funny that could lead to new season possibilities. The series is forwarded for Emmy in Comedy instead of Limited Series which also indicates it is not likely to be restricted to nine episodes only.

Besides Hahn and her enthralling performance, the cast also consists of some talented women. The group also counts Sicilian divination witch Lilia Calderu (Patri LuPone), canceled beauty influencer Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata), guardian witch over a tragic Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza), and ordinary Westview resident dated Mrs. Hart (Debra Jo Rupp) among others. There are also a few other known characters. All are well-rounded and interesting, but it is Ahn who opens the most eyes with her hexing charm. Though widely regarded as a villain in the Marvel Universe, her narrative arc in the show is somehow immersing.

The Witch’s Time – Debra Jo Rupp has made her mark as the key supporting casting in the series and her performance is largely being highlighted all around. While she performed far off better than her lines in WandaVision, her performance in this show would easily land her an Emmy.

Kathryn Hahn has her audience enthralled but unfortunately the characters and the proverbial cue have failed her as the casting did not only bring forward an irrelevant character but also Tamara Brown casting would complain about adapting the show to bring another character within it.

One of the highlights of the series is the coven of women that it showcases, specifically when it establishes a relationship between the saber sisters and Commander Magda, whose coven includes, Jennifer Kale, Sasheer Zamata, a candle shop owner, or Lilia Calderu, a psychic/sorceress, and a protector named Alice Wu-Gulliver, together they are a strong cast alongside Aubrey Plaza who isn’t shy to showcase her sexuality as the green witch Rio Vidal.