Kathryn Hahn and Aubrey Plaza star in the Marvel television series, debuting on Disney Plus.
Created by Jack Kirby for Marvel Comics in 1969, Agatha Harkness followed in the cultural footsteps of Elizabeth Montgomery’s nose-twitching Samantha in Bewitched and in the shadow of the witches’ coven in Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby.
Created by Jac Shaeffer for Disney Plus in 2021, Agatha Harkness was initially known as Agnes, a neighbor to Wanda Maximoff. Eventually, her true identity as an antagonistic character was revealed and her powers were stripped, leaving her trapped in the town of Westview at the conclusion of WandaVision.
Created by Jac Schaeffer for Disney Plus in 2024, Agatha Harkness begins the first episode of Agatha All Along as Agnes, a police detective in a spoof-in-name-only of a Danish crime show. It’s not a terribly convincing spoof of Nordic Noir, and not even close to the brilliant parodies in WandaVision, but it’s only a jumping-off point.
By the end of the second episode, Agatha Harkness’ true identity as a witch who was at the original Salem Witch Trials has been revealed, she has gained a sidekick known as Teen — since a curse has been placed upon his mouth whenever he attempts to say his given name — and has been given a Very Important Mission. Oh, and Aubrey Plaza has been introduced as a Key Character.
Four episodes were kindly provided by Disney Plus for advance preview, which came with a strict embargo on mentioning any spoilers of any kind. Of course, I readily agreed — I hate spoilers — but I believe everything I’ve written above will not spoil it or reveal any secrets that have not already been revealed in the promotional material.
The show acknowledges that it’s been three years since the events in WandaVision, which set a high bar for this spin-off show. It’s easy enough to fall for Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness, especially in her dogged detective / friendly-witch persona; she has an engaging presence that enables her to convince in whatever personality she assumes.
As much as I like Aubrey Plaza too, the real stars of the series are the production designer, costume designer, and makeup effects specialists, who all have a field day, bringing a riot of ideas to colorful life. No slam on the actors, but the look of the series definitely kept me amused and distracted, which helps since the dramatics are rather straightforward and familiar, which I won’t detail, since *spoilers*!!
It’s an easy show to watch, if not love, even for non-fans of witches — raises hand and waves it vigorously — since it’s primarily about Agatha and how she connects with her Teen familiar and her fellow witches. Topped off with excellent technical credits and a noteworthy credit sequence that acknowledges the show’s debt to Bewitched, among many others. Agatha All Along will leave you twitching your nose in amusement.
The first two episodes debut Wednesday, September 18, exclusively on Disney Plus. Subsequent episodes will debut every Wednesday.
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