Agatha: Darkhold Diaries

In August 2019, at Disney's biennial convention D23, Kathryn Hahn was announced as cast in the role of Agnes, Wanda Maximoff and Vision's neighbor in the Marvel Studios Disney+ series WandaVision (2021).[18][19] That series' seventh episode revealed that "Agnes" was actually Agatha Harkness, a character from the Marvel Comics.[20] In May, WandaVision head writer Jac Schaeffer signed a three-year overall television deal with Marvel Studios and 20th Television to develop additional projects for the studios' Disney+ content.[21] By October 2021, a "dark comedy" spin-off from WandaVision centered on Hahn's Harkness was in early development for that service from Marvel Studios, with Schaeffer returning from WandaVision as writer and executive producer.[3] Hahn's involvement was part of a larger deal she signed with Marvel Studios to reprise the role in additional series and films.[22] During the Disney+ Day event the following month, the series was officially announced as Agatha: House of Harkness.[2] It was renamed to Agatha: Coven of Chaos by July 2022.[23] Schaeffer was revealed to also be serving as a director of the series by that November,[24] and Gandja Monteiro was revealed to also be directing the following month.[25] They were both confirmed in January 2023 along with Rachel Goldberg as another director,[9] with Schaeffer and Monteiro directing multiple episodes,[9][17] including the first episode and the finale, respectively.[1][17]

The series was revealed to have been retitled once again to Agatha: Darkhold Diaries in September 2023.[15] Series actress Aubrey Plaza had previously posted a photo in May 2023 during filming of a director's chair with that title, in a font based on the one used for the Disney film The Princess Diaries (2001).[26] The multiple title changes were reported to not be caused by any indecision from Marvel Studios but were rather indicating, according to Adam B. Vary at Variety, that the title character was "up to her old skulduggery".[27] A filing for the first episode with the United States Copyright Office indicated the series' title to simply be Agatha.[28] Series actress Debra Jo Rupp described the series as the second season of WandaVision, comparing it to American Horror Story with how each season is a "whole new kind of a thing".[29] Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Brad Winderbaum also serve as executive producers.[30][31] 20th Television also produces the series.[32]

Peter Cameron, Cameron Squires,[33] Laura Donney, and Megan McDonnell are working on the series,[34] all returning from WandaVision,[33][34] alongside Laura Monti, Giovanna Sarquis, and Jason Rostovsky.[35]

Hahn was expected to reprise her role in the series with the reveal of its development in October 2021,[3] which was confirmed with the series' official announcement a month later.[2] Emma Caulfield Ford revealed in October 2022 that she would reprise her role as Sarah Proctor / "Dottie Jones" from WandaVision.[10] In November, Joe Locke,[36] Aubrey Plaza,[37] Ali Ahn, Maria Dizzia,[14] and Sasheer Zamata joined the cast.[6] Locke plays Billy Kaplan,[5] the male lead of the series, which Deadline Hollywood described as a "gay teen with a dark sense of humor",[38] while Plaza plays Rio Vidal, a newly created character for the series and a villain role.[37][1] Ahn plays the witch Alice,[6][1] with Dizzia also reported to be portraying a witch,[6] and Zamata set for the recurring role of the sorceress Jennifer Kale.[6][5] The following month, Patti LuPone joined the cast,[39] as the witch Lilia Calderu.[4]

In January 2023, Debra Jo Rupp, David Payton, David Lengel, Asif Ali, Amos Glick, Brian Brightman, and Kate Forbes were revealed to be appearing in the series, reprising their respective roles from WandaVision as Sharon Davis / "Mrs. Hart",[7][8] John Collins / "Herb", Harold Proctor / "Phil Jones", Abilash Tandon / "Norm",[9][11] a pizza delivery man cast as "Dennis",[9][11][12] the Eastview, New Jersey sheriff,[9][11][13] and Agatha's mother Evanora Harkness.[9][11] Miles Gutierrez-Riley was cast as Hulkling,[9][5] with Okwui Okpokwasili also cast in the series.[9]

Daniel Selon serves as the costume designer, after previously working on WandaVision (2021), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) as an assistant costume designer,[40] while John Collins serves as the production designer.[41]

Principal photography began on January 17, 2023,[42][9] at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia,[43] with Schaeffer, Monteiro, and Goldberg directing episodes of the series.[9] Caleb Heymann and Jon Chema served as cinematographers.[44][45] The series was filmed under the working title My Pretty.[43] Filming with Rupp also occurred in Los Angeles by February 2023, before moving to Atlanta for two months.[29] The start of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike in May 2023 was not expected to impact production of Darkhold Diaries, with Marvel Studios reportedly planning to shoot what they could during principal photography and make any necessary writing adjustments during the series' already scheduled reshoots.[46] Filming wrapped by May 28.[47]

In January 2023, Hahn hinted at the inclusion of songs in the series, much like the original songs featured in WandaVision such as "Agatha All Along".[48] In March, Christophe Beck revealed he would be composing the score for the series, after previously doing so for WandaVision and other MCU media.[49] The following month, Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez were revealed to have written the songs for the series, returning from WandaVision. Hahn serves as the lead singer for some songs, with the other witch actors such as LuPone acting as background singers.[50]