Jac Schaeffer has had quite a year. She was the head writer for Marvel Studios‘ first Disney+ series, “WandaVision,” a program that finished shooting during a pandemic, earned critical raves, and, eventually, 23 Emmy nominations. Following that Emmy haul, including two for herself in the Outstanding Limited Series or Anthology Series and Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series categories, she finally saw “Black Widow,” for which she earned a “story by” credit on, hit theaters. And while she looks back fondly over the past 12 months, there’s one thing we need her opinion on. One topic more important than her potentially working for Marvel again, where White Vision flew off to or upsetting “Queen’s Gambit” at the Emmy ceremony next month. The lasting cultural legacy of…“Agatha All Along.”
The shocking and hilarious end to episode seven of the series, “Agatha All Along,” is an original song written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (“Let It Go,” “Remember Me”) and performed by fellow Emmy nominee Kathryn Hahn. It was a pitch-perfect way to reveal that Agatha (Hahn) was behind all of the evil mechanisms haunting Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and her husband, Vision (Paul Bettany). Schaeffer was expecting viewers to react positively to the scene but didn’t think it would explode as it did.
“Never in a million years expected that it would chart on iTunes. That was never on my mind. I mean, that was maybe on Disney’s mind, but that never occurred to me,” It was Cameron Squires who wrote the episode, and he wrote a version of that main title song. His version was called “That’s So Agatha,” which was hilarious on its own, but Bobby and Kristen Anderson-Lopez wrote “Agatha All Along” and made it the sensation that it is. And so when I think about that, yeah, then I’m not surprised at all because I mean, that’s what those two do. They generate juggernaut musical hits. So, we were just lucky to be in business with them.”
Schaeffer also discussed “WandaVision’s” Emmy nomination success, her fellow nominees, and more in a conversation condensed for time.
____
The Playlist: “WandaVision” earned 23 nominations, more than many predicted. As someone who spearheaded this show, what was your reaction?
Jac Schaeffer: Well, I got two nominations, and my colleagues got 21 other nominations. It’s extraordinary, and it is so satisfying and fulfilling and absolutely delicious to see all of these incredible craftspeople be recognized. I mean, everybody brought so much love and enthusiasm to the show. Yeah, there’s very little for us to complain about as a company. We had such good fortune with this project, but we have not been able to celebrate together. We have been apart for a very long time, and all of our celebrations were over zoom. So the Emmys are, in addition just to being such an incredible honor, it’s an opportunity for us to be in each other’s faces and give big squeezes while masked together in the same space. So, I’m really looking forward to that.
Besides your own, was there one nomination you were most thrilled with?
Well, I mean, I would have to say the writing nominations. I was hopeful that we might be recognized for writing. Still, I never thought we could get more than one writing nomination [Chuck Hayward and Peter Cameron and Laura Donney were also nominated for two other episodes]. We still are a very close writing room. And there are eight writers and then me, and four of us are nominated. And so that feels really great, and we feel like we’re sharing it together, so that’s really, especially sweet, that nomination.
This was arguably the most competitive limited series or anthology series campaign in a decade. All five of these nominees will be talked about for years on end. Did you recognize that with the nominations? Is that something that you’re proud of?
I’m new to the television space, so I think my awareness of how stacked the category was really wasn’t my way in, but what I was sort of amazed by is all of these shows that I worshiped and am totally addicted to. I mean, “I May Destroy You” is a show that has had an enormous impact on me as a writer and human, and I watched it with my husband. We were just both gobsmacked by how moving it is and how funny it is and how she, in a limited series, sort of reinvented the show itself continually. That’s something that we were striving to do with “WandaVision,” and I think we were in post-production while “I May Destroy You” was first airing, but I mean, they’re so very different. But what I would say about the limited series category and what a lot of these shows have in common is there’s so much risk-taking in what a limited series can be. And that episode to episode, you’re getting something wildly different, and that’s why I’m thrilled to be in this space. And why I hope to do more is because, to me, it feels like the place where you can be the most daring and where you can surprise your audiences the most.
Speaking of risk-taking, is it surprising to you how much creative risk you got away with making a Marvel Studios production?
I had worked on other Marvel projects before and became familiar with all sorts of opportunities inherent in being involved in those productions. But there’s also a larger mythology that you have to be aware of, and you have to work inside of. So I knew all of that, but “WandaVision” did feel different from the very beginning. It did feel like there would be more runway to be weird, which is what I like to do. But my voice skews in the direction of sort of warm and entertaining and sort of crowd-pleasing. I skew toward comedy, I like big ideas, and I like to be challenging, but I also really enjoy working inside of Marvel because I feel very aligned with the overall sensibility. So, “WandaVision: for me was a very charmed project because I got to be as daring as I like to be, but everybody was on the same page that we wanted to entertain above all else. So, yeah, it was a bit of both. I felt very supported, and we all felt like we were on the same page about it all along the way.
When you think back to working on the show, is there one moment or scene that you’re most proud that you were able to get in the series?
There are a couple. I think the scene at the dinner table in the pilot when Vision’s boss chokes; I’m especially proud of because it’s the pilot of one of Marvel Studios first ever forays into television and the most dramatic thing that happens in it and the most violent thing that happens in it is a human being chokes on some food. I didn’t really think that everybody would go for that. I thought that it would sort of being in the script for a little bit, and then everyone would sort of want to do something bigger and more exciting or more captivating, more action-y. So, I feel proud of that, and I feel really gratified that all of my partners agreed that we could make it really upsetting for the audience in that “Twilight Zone” kind of de-stabilizing way. And then also Vision and Wanda’s goodbye scene was a scene that I knew in my heart really early on. And it was something that I was kind of protecting and was hoping would arrive on TV’s the way that I imagined it. And it did, I think, because I was supported as a writer and because the actors are so incredible at their jobs, and they made it more beautiful than I even knew it could be.
One of the big zeitgeist moments of the show is the “Agatha All Along” reveal at the end of episode 7. Obviously, you write that hoping it will pop, but were you surprised at the reaction?
Oh my God. I never in a million years expected that it would chart on iTunes. That was never on my mind. I mean, that was maybe on Disney’s mind, but that never occurred to me. Cameron Squires wrote the episode, and he wrote a version of that main title song. His version was called “That’s So Agatha,” which was hilarious on its own, but Bobby and Kristen Anderson-Lopez wrote “Agatha All Along” and made it the sensation that it is. And so when I think about that, yeah, then I’m not surprised at all because I mean, that’s what those two do. They generate juggernaut musical hits. So, we were just lucky to be in business with them.
I think one of the things that I love about it is it became this never-ending meme for things that happened over the past eight months or six months where people would be like, “Oh no, it was ‘blank’ all along.” I think that was even more impressive than the song. It stuck with people.
I remember the day in the writer’s room when we were… we came up with the idea that Agatha had done all these things, and I think it was Laura Donney who said, “And I killed Sparky too,” and we were rolling. We thought that that was the funniest thing that had ever happened. So in a way, it does make sense. We were so amused at the notion that somebody could be behind every dastardly deed that happened. So, that part of the meme, the essence of the meme, definitely tracks for me.
Have you had time to work on anything else? Have you been just sort of gestating with other projects?
I have. I’ve been working on a lot of stuff. None of it is announceable now, but I have been lucky enough to be working on multiple projects and collaborating with people that I have long admired, so I feel really grateful.
Based on what you said earlier, should I guess that one of them might be in the limited series? Or are you going back to film?
Yeah, I think it’s safe to say that I am endeavoring to do at least one more limited series, if not doing them for the rest of my life.
A movie that you have story credit for, “Black Widow,” recently hit theaters. It had a significant delay because of the pandemic. How did that affect you personally?
I was so happy for everybody who participated in that project and that audiences were so excited to show up, to see it, both at home and in theaters. Because I was focused on “WandaVision,” I think the wait wasn’t as painful as it might’ve been. But I felt that for the fans, I mean, there is no better fandom than the Marvel fans, and I just wanted them to be able to see something that they had been wishing for so long.
Speaking of Marvel, I know you’ve done other interviews where you’ve noted you’re open to coming back and working on other projects in the future. Is there any comic character that hasn’t been given the spotlight yet you’re interested in tackling?
I mean, there were a lot of really wonderful characters in the comics. But I also love the already established characters, and I love the actors that I’ve worked with. So, I would consider myself lucky to work with any of those folks again. I think I don’t want to mention any others for fear of click-baiting this…[Laughs.]
____
Smart move from someone already a veteran of the Marvel Studios publicity experience.
“Wandavision” is available worldwide on Disney+.