MARVEL MARATHON DEEP DIVE
WANDAVISION
WandaVision was the first Marvel Studios series on Disney+. It arrived on 15 January 2021 with two episodes, then ran weekly to nine, each one styled after a different era of television.
A DISNEY+ LIMITED SERIES
HOW WANDAVISION WAS MADE
Marvel Studios was developing several limited series for Disney+ by September 2018, including one centred on Wanda and Vision. Jac Schaeffer was hired as head writer in January 2019, the series was officially announced as WandaVision in April 2019, and Matt Shakman was hired to direct in August 2019. Filming began in Atlanta in November 2019, halted in March 2020 because of COVID-19, resumed in Los Angeles in September 2020 and wrapped in November 2020.
SITCOMS AS A MASK
WHAT THE SERIES IS ABOUT
The eras run in order: a 1950s black-and-white sitcom, then the 1960s, the 1970s in full colour, a real-world episode with no sitcom era, then the 1980s and early 1990s, the late 1990s and early 2000s, and the mid-to-late 2000s. Schaeffer said in March 2021 that the format was never only a pastiche:
“From the very beginning, it was about the stages of grief.”
Jac Schaeffer, 10 March 2021
Shakman, a former child actor on sitcom sets, said in May 2021 that he approached the series like theatre: “we rehearsed together like a theater company.”
TWO FILM STARS AND A TV ENSEMBLE
WHO IS IN THE CAST
Elizabeth Olsen plays Wanda and Paul Bettany plays Vision, with Teyonah Parris, Kathryn Hahn, Debra Jo Rupp, Fred Melamed, Randall Park, Kat Dennings and Evan Peters. Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez wrote the show’s songs, and Christophe Beck composed the score. Bettany described the series as about six hours of material made on a budget similar to a two-and-a-half-hour MCU film.
A WEEKLY MYSTERY
HOW THE SERIES WAS RECEIVED
The nine episodes run from “Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience” on 15 January 2021 to “The Series Finale” on 5 March 2021, at 31 to 51 minutes each. It was Disney+’s most-watched series premiere on its opening weekend until The Falcon and the Winter Soldier surpassed it in March 2021, and TVision ranked it the most-viewed title of January 2021. Rotten Tomatoes lists a 92% critics’ score from 428 reviews and an 88% audience score, and its consensus calls it “a wonderfully weird and strikingly bold step into the small screen for the MCU.” Metacritic gives it 77 from 43 critics.
Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter called the series “creatively courageous,” while Joshua Rivera of Polygon criticised the finale for setting up future MCU projects.
THE REWATCH
TWENTY-THREE EMMY NOMINATIONS AND A SPIN-OFF
The series received 23 Primetime Emmy nominations and won three Creative Arts Emmys. Bettany and Hahn were widely seen as front-runners but lost. The spin-off Agatha All Along, centred on Hahn’s Agatha Harkness, premiered in September 2024.
In the Marvel Marathon it sits in the MCU release order and MCU series order guides between The Daily Bugle Season 1 and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. It sits in the Marvel TV shows in order guide between Helstrom Season 1 and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. In the MCU timeline guide it comes between Loki Season 1 and Loki Season 2.
QUICK ANSWERS
WANDAVISION WATCH QUESTIONS
Do I need to watch other MCU films first?
Yes, in particular Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. WandaVision opens in the aftermath of Endgame and builds on Wanda’s and Vision’s earlier film arcs.
How many episodes are in WandaVision?
Nine. The first two arrived together on 15 January 2021, and the rest followed weekly until the finale on 5 March 2021.
Is there a second season?
No. Matt Shakman said no second season was planned. The spin-off is Agatha All Along, centred on Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness, which premiered in September 2024.
Which Marvel Marathon guides include WandaVision?
It appears in the MCU release order, MCU series order, Marvel TV shows in order and MCU timeline guides. In the timeline it sits between Loki Season 1 and Loki Season 2.
EDITORIAL NOTES
SOURCES AND UPDATES
Development, production, release, reception and awards details are checked against a series reference, interviews with the head writer and director, and aggregator scores, cited individually below.