from Chris Snelgrove
| Published
Since then Agatha All together broke the curse of the Marvel TV series, giving us the best show since WandaVisioneveryone was trying to figure out why this spell worked so effectively. Appropriately enough, it looks like lead star Kathryn Hahn might have it figured out: At a recent PowerWomen summit, she discussed the “emotional safety” of working with a mostly female show and how it “encourages complexity” and gives her a real-life “coven.” ” which “vibrated and hummed” during the production. bearing in mind Agatha All togetherThe sheer appeal of female viewers seems like this show has succeeded by catering to a very specific demographic.
Witches do
There’s a popular idea among internet users, most likely to order brain pills, that when shows “woke up,” they “go broke” accordingly, paying the perceived price of catering to a demographic other than old white dudes. Agatha All together to become a hit thanks to its obvious appeal to women would seem to defy that notion, but the show’s success has mercifully transcended the bounds of the internet’s never-ending culture wars. AgathaThe success of doesn’t mean every Disney+ show has to embrace the inner girl boss. Instead, it proves that House of Mouse needs to stop trying to please everyone with every show.
Think back to some of the Marvel shows on Disney+ including The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Lokiand She-Hulk. All of these very different shows have one thing in common: Marvel wants them to appeal to as many people as possible, which ultimately hurts the overall quality of the series.
for example, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier wanted the audience to empathize with the bad guys and their desire to fight the corrupt world governments that had abandoned millions of people. But not too sympathetically, which is why the flag breakers suddenly bombed a supply depot full of innocent people. Disney tried to appeal to those who applaud social activism and those who like to see terrorists punished, but the result was a confusing villain whose motivations made less and less sense as time went on.
while Agatha All together, Loki is considered the best MCU Disney+ show since then WandaVision. But despite its insanely charismatic lead actor, this show also suffered from trying to appeal to everyone… the show tries to appeal to lore lovers with its Variants and endless easter eggs, but it also tries to appeal to those who who love mystery boxes with their whole “Who started TVA?” subplot. Also, he tried to appeal to romantics with his weird will-you-won’t-they Loki/Sylvie pairing, even as he laid the groundwork for future Marvel shows and movies; the result was a show that could have been brilliant if only it had been good.
Some fans may be tempted to compare She-Hulk to Agatha All together as this legal comedy was also ostensibly aimed at women, right down to the main bad guy being a weird misogynist. However, I’d say the show is more about raising awareness of feminist principles and the struggles women face (from being catcalled to murder) than actually saying much beyond the obvious “patriarchy is bad” which is why most fans remember silly things like the titular character’s twerking rather than any serious message. It was basically Tumblr activism: the show not making it as significant as anyone hoped it would be.
Agatha All Along: By Women, For Women
All of which brings us back to Agatha All togethera show made both by and for women. That’s not to say men can’t enjoy it (hell, I did!), but the show especially resonated with its target demographic by focusing its storytelling on female agency and the magical power of sisterhood. We also see our title character locking lips with Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza) in a celebration of female sexuality that felt particularly salient because Disney often seems to minimize such representation for fear of upsetting other markets (most notably China).
Again, the lesson Disney needs to learn from Agatha All together it’s not that every show needs girl power, but instead every show needs to be built from the ground up for a very specific audience. There’s nothing wrong with specifically appealing to bro dudes with a show about Rocket Raccoon’s drunken galactic adventures, or appealing to art geeks with a series about a Skrull who’s forgotten who he really is. The point is that the show needs to be written around that focus instead of trying to appeal to everyone at once.
This goes against the conventional wisdom that a show needs to appeal to as many people as possible to become popular. But Agatha All together teaches us that going all-in on a specific demographic helps shows develop much-needed word-of-mouth buzz. And the fact that Khan’s show has grown in popularity over time is testament to the old adage: if you build it (in this case, an ambitious show about a charismatic lead written and directed by passionate fans), they will air .
Only time will tell if Disney learns the right lessons Agatha All together. I have high hopes that shows like Daredevil: Born again and A miracle man will be even half as focused, creative or downright clever as this wonderful witch show. But the key is for House of Mouse to stop casting the widest possible net and instead lock in a target audience with its cast, advertising messages and scripts. Otherwise, Marvel’s curse will return and remain in effect until executives learn that fans want a hearty, custom-made meal, not another bowl of plain slop.
