Kathryn Hahn’s 9-Part Fantasy Thriller Series Is Aging Like Fine Wine

Kathryn Hahn starred in a nine-part fantasy thriller that only keeps getting better. Kathryn Hahn’s best roles truly show her range, from her more comedic appearances to her more dramatic work, or even her time as a voice actor. The latter roles came in the highest-ranked Spider-Man movies, the Spider-Verse franchise, proving Hahn can also embody characters in the realm of superheroes, too.

This extended to the timeline of the MCU, which is undoubtedly Hahn’s most well-known franchise. Upcoming Marvel movies are unlikely to feature the actor, unless Avengers: Doomsday and its sequel, Secret Wars, have a crazy amount of cameos. Either way, though, Hahn’s nine-part fantasy thriller in the franchise won’t be affected, as it only keeps getting better.

Agatha All Along Was Much Better Than Expected

Credit: Disney+ via MovieStillsDB

The fantasy thriller in question is Agatha All Along. Much like its predecessor, Elizabeth Olsen’s WandaVision, Agatha can be classed in this genre thanks to the focus on horror-based mystery, with the excitement this caused leaning into the show into thriller territory. The fantasy aspect speaks for itself, given that Agatha All Along centers around the titular witch’s coven and their magical trip down the Witches Road.

Thanks to this story, the blend of genres, and fantastic performances, Agatha All Along surprised a lot of people. Pre-release, the questions surrounding the show were “Did anyone ask for this?” and “Is this show really necessary?” As it turned out, these questions stemmed from complete ignorance, with many quickly realizing their mistakes after Agatha All Along was released.

The series was very well-received by critics and audiences alike. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an 84% critical rating, with the audience approval rating almost matching it. 82% of audience members gave the series a positive review; on IMDb, the show’s lowest-rated episode holds a respectable 7.2/10, with the highest rating at 9/10, a number often only seen among the best Marvel TV shows.

Evidently, everyone was wrong to judge Agatha All Along so harshly before seeing anything from it.

Agatha All Along Was An MCU Sleeper Hit

What became clear as Agatha All Along was airing, and remains so today, is that the show was a sleeper hit. Concerning overall views, Agatha All Along is the second-least-watched in the entire MCU, above only Echo. Usually, this would be an issue. However, Agatha All Along is the cheapest Marvel Studios TV property ever produced for Disney+, with all nine episodes costing $40 million.

This, combined with the fact that Agatha All Along‘s strong word of mouth saw viewership increase as the series went on, rendered the show a sleeper hit. According to reports from Variety, Agatha All Along‘s premiere episode garnered 3.1 million views in the first 24 hours. By the end of the series, specifically episodes 7, 8, and 9, the show was pulling in 4.2 million, 4.6 million, and 3.9 million views, respectively.

Typically, shows tend to debut a lot bigger, resulting in dwindling viewership numbers as they go on. With Agatha, the opposite was the case. Thanks to the increasing viewership and strong word of mouth, Agatha All Along only continued to prove the early naysayers wrong, becoming a highly profitable and successful Disney+ venture for Marvel Studios.

Agatha All Along Will Only Keep Getting Better

What proves that Agatha All Along will continue aging well is its continued legacy for the wider MCU and, somewhat ironically, the lack of impact the wider MCU will have on the story. Regarding the latter point, Agatha All Along was mostly self-contained. Although it followed on from WandaVision and introduced Scarlet Witch’s son, Billy Maximoff, into the fold, the story’s focus was confined to its central characters, rather than on universe-changing events like Loki or The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

This means that future MCU projects likely won’t touch on the characters or story of Agatha All Along, allowing it to stay exactly as it was with no further narrative or character-based changes that could possibly hinder it on rewatch. In this sense, Agatha All Along will keep aging well.

That is not to say the show won’t have an MCU legacy, though. Agatha All Along‘s ending saw Billy and the titular witch go off in search of the former’s brother, Tommy. Tommy is expected to appear in 2026’s Vision Quest, the third entry in the “WandaVision trilogy.” Therefore, Agatha could have a direct impact on Vision Quest by reuniting the twins of Wanda and Vision.

If so, and if Vision Quest is good, a fantastic, mostly self-contained “trilogy” will have been formed in the MCU. Although not constructed in the traditional sense, WandaVision, Agatha All Along, and Vision Quest are being viewed by Marvel Studios as a cohesive story. If the latter can match the quality of the former two, Agatha All Along will officially be part of one of the MCU’s best trilogies, solidifying its legacy and helping it continue to age like a fine wine.

Release Date

2024 – 2024-00-00

Showrunner

Jac Schaeffer

Directors

Jac Schaeffer, Gandja Monteiro, Rachel Goldberg

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  Agnes O’Connor / Agatha Harkness

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