Written by Chris Snellgrove | Published
For a long time, most Marvel content on Disney+ has been a disappointment, vacillating between fun and unnecessary (e.g Werewolf by night) and failed attempts to recreate the MCU movie formula (e.g Secret invasion). Recently, though, Agatha along It reversed this trend by increasing viewership as it continued. Although the show’s 4.6 million viewers in the finale doesn’t make it a huge success, the fact that the premiere only had 3.1 million viewers says a lot about how much people enjoyed the show.
Those who watched it, both critics and fans alike, loved it. Outcomes like this have left us debating why this show was as successful as other recent Marvel fare has crashed and burned. However, the answer to that is simple: Marvel has since aired its first true spin-off WandaVision To create something fun and accessible for absolute beginners.
Why have Marvel’s streaming shows failed?: Mixed intentions
To understand better Agatha alongSuccess, it is important to understand why other offerings fail or perform poorly. In most cases, the problem (a common problem with most Star Wars content on Disney+) is that executives were tasked with turning what could have been a solid two-hour movie into a bloated and largely rudderless TV show. For example, it’s hard for even the biggest fans of the series to argue with that Secret invasion and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier They would have fared better as big-budget blockbusters rather than mid-budget six-episode blockbusters.
Even the shows won’t necessarily fare better because the movies waste a lot of their potential in setting up future films. Loki It would have been better if he didn’t spend the entire show trying to make Kang happen and Ms. Marvel It could have been improved by not making the ending such a big setup for Wondersa historic box office failure for Disney.
Going into the premiere, I was worried about that Agatha along He will repeat these mistakes by trading it WandaVision A connection to set up the inevitable Scarlet Witch solo movie. In this case, I’ve never been so happy to be so wrong.
Why Agatha worked all the time: to zig where others zag
Agatha along It largely succeeded by meandering where other Disney+ MCU shows had meandered. For example, despite this being a live show WandaVision sequel, it was very easy to watch and enjoy even for those who haven’t followed the last round of Scarlet Witch’s reality-warping TV adventures. This accessibility ensured an influx of casual viewers, and the show’s explicit focus on a mostly female cast may have helped attract more women, a TV demographic as strong as most previous Marvel shows (at least those without Elizabeth Olsen or Tom Hiddleston in the starring role). potential customers) failed to attract them.
Part of this accessibility comes from the fact that Agatha along It doesn’t explicitly set up some future Marvel projects, and that allows it to succeed on its own merits. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Set up Captain America 4, Ms. Marvel Set up WondersLoki was preparing the now defunct Avengers: Kang’s Waretc. These endless setups rob these shows of their own dramatic power while making watching them feel like homework; On the contrary, AgathaOur commitment to focusing on our own narrative helped us enjoy the show for its (many, many) benefits.
In addition, Agatha along It’s arguably the first Disney+ MCU show since then WandaVision To embrace the transverse form in reality. Many of the other shows felt like planned films forced into a television format, which led to serious pacing issues. Agatha He took the time to turn each episode into a mini adventure, making it exciting to follow each week.
There’s a lot of that Agatha along It nails it, from the killer music (“The Ballad of the Witch’s Road” is real pop) to the perfect cast (Aubrey Plaza’s true magic ability is to chew up each of her scenes in the funniest way possible). However, the real power of the show’s success was that it ditched the old, failed formula in favor of doing something new, and audiences rewarded Disney for it.