With one casual line, Sasheer Zamata just made Marvel history.
The Saturday Night Live alum recently joined the MCU as Jennifer Kale, a witch-turned-wellness guru with a penchant for potions. In Agatha All Along, she serves as an ally to Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), and in the series’ latest episode, she became the first to acknowledge an infamous comic-book character on-screen.
“I didn’t know people had been waiting for Mephisto for so long,” Zamata tells Inverse. “It was actually a big deal! We filmed that take a lot of times to make sure I got the phrasing right and I didn’t mumble any words. It had to be crystal clear.”
“For a Disney show, I was surprised at how deep into witch stuff we were getting.”
MCU Easter eggs aside, Agatha All Along series is a notable departure for Marvel and even its most magic-centric projects. For a show about a coven of witches, it’s surprisingly down to earth. The main characters don’t possess wild superpowers like Scarlet Witch or Doctor Strange. Most of them, like Zamata’s Jennifer, have been stripped of whatever powers they once had and forced to rely on good old-fashioned craft work.
“For a Disney show, I was surprised at how deep into witch stuff we were getting,” Zamata says. “This show is created by people who also are nerdy about witch lore and rituals, and it’s very cool to be a part of a project like that. A lot of research went into this.”
That research shines through in the latest episode of Agatha All Along, which also serves as a spotlight for the character. As the series kicks into a higher gear, Inverse caught up with Zamata to tease all that’s in store for the coven of chaos.
Warning: Spoilers ahead for Agatha All Along Episodes 1-3.
In Agatha All Along, Jennifer embarks on the journey down the perilous Witches’ Road with the other members of her new coven. Each witch specializes in a different brand of magic — and each trial will test their knowledge and skill. Jennifer was first up in Episode 3. In the first trial (a hilarious riff on Nancy Meyers movies) she has to save the coven from an unidentified poison without using any powers.
The show also isn’t afraid to show its characters struggling with each magical challenge.
“It’s not just glowing hands and [suddenly] we have power,” Zamata says. “You see us trying to conjure this stuff up, and I think that’s exciting.”
Though Jennifer did get the coven through their first trial, things are about to get “even more stressful” as their quest continues. The demise of their token human companion, Sharon (Debra Jo Rupp), was a rude awakening for everyone, reminding the witches of what they stand to lose on the Road.
“It’s a huge bummer when anyone dies,” Zamata says. “I think that’s the coven’s first introduction to really high stakes. Like, ‘Oh, we actually need to get our stuff together, or we could all perish here.’”
Without Rupp, Agatha also loses a bit of comic relief, but the series will make up for it in other ways. The coven’s next trial, Zamata explains, is inspired by the ‘70s, and based on recent teasers, it’ll finally bring Aubrey Plaza’s Rio Vidal back into the fold.
Rio’s ardent rapport with Agatha was one of the most surprising elements of the series premiere. Agatha became “Marvel’s gayest show” overnight — a superlative that’s become the norm for so many Disney projects of late — but Zamata doesn’t see a downside.
“I think people have been wanting it,” Zamata says of queer content in the MCU. “There’s a lot of queerness in the Marvel comics already, and it’s exciting to be in a show where we are exploring this.”
Future episodes will also explore more of Jennifer’s tragic past. Her magic has been “bound” for years now, and Agatha’s last episode brought her face-to-face with the man who suppressed her powers. Zamata’s staying mum on Jennifer’s future, however, in Agatha and the MCU at large. That doesn’t mean she hasn’t thought about joining a Magical Avengers down the line — or a version of the Witches squad, as her character does in the comics. But her journey is just beginning, and Zamata is content to enjoy the ride as the series finds its audience.
“This show is so full,” she says with a smile. “Everything matters. The set matters; the costumes matter; what we’re saying matters. It’s all connected, and it’s just fun to see people eating it up.”
