YAGA is the new half-hour mystery thriller series coming to AMC+ this October that reimagines the Slavic folk tale of the Baba Yaga witch. Based on Kat Sandler's play of the same name, the highly anticipated new show follows a private investigator (Noah Reid) and local detective (Clark Backo) looking to solve the disappearance of a local young heir (Hudson Williams). But in their journey, the pair are teased to encounter "a charismatic university professor (Carrie-Anne Moss) with a taste for younger men and a labyrinth of enigmatic suspects, secret lives, and ancient magic."
Part witchy fantasy and part crime thriller, YAGA also promises to uncover the perspective and motives of the Baba Yaga character herself in ways that are rarely shown on screen. At San Diego Comic-Con, Kat Sandler and cast members Noah Reid and Clark Backo spoke more on what we can expect from the upcoming limited series and (thanks to the release of the new teaser trailer) opened up more about how intimacy will be incorporated into the storytelling.
How much spiciness can we expect in YAGA?
After talking more with showrunner Kat Sandler and cast members Noah Reid and Clark Backo, we think the answer is... well, a lot.
When asked about the role intimacy plays on screen in YAGA, cast member Noah Reid was quick to confirm that sexual relationships are "part of the language of the show," sharing that YAGA has the most sexual content of any other project he's done. "It's a part of also the language of Baba Yaga in this sort of the breadcrumb trail... I think that's an element of what the fun of our show is, and the danger of our show too. It kind of straddles that line."
Reid also commented on some of the spiciness shown in the trailer by calling out the performance from his co-star Hudson Williams, who Reid teased was a step ahead of him because of Williams' recent experience on Crave's breakout hit Heated Rivalry. "Hudson had a lot to bring to us in that department," Reid said. "He's a grizzled vet. He's a professional."
Series creator and showrunner Kat Sandler spoke more on the importance and purpose in centering intimacy on screen for an older female character. "It was really, really important to show women older than 30 being sexual and empowered on screen," she said. Not only is it important to the story, but Sandler also explained that she thinks of Baba Yaga as a bad girl pursuing fun, and Sandler's hope is that the audience will be able to have a lot of fun along with her.
Actor Clark Backo also talked about the empowerment woven into the show and explained why she thinks it's what gives the retelling of this story its true magic. "I personally have not seen too many series or films that give us sex from the perspective of [older women] who want it badly and have it a lot whenever they want. And I think that is new and fresh and important," she shared.
And as for any spicy moments that could have the biggest reaction from the audience? Sandler teased a surprising scene in YAGA that was one of her favorites to write and create. "There's one really surprising scene that I love," she said. "It's one of my very favorite scenes, and it's nuts... but I think it's so beautiful, and it's just so special." We'll have to take our best guess as to which scene she's talking about after the series drops this fall.
YAGA premieres this October on AMC+ with eight half-hour episodes.
Add us as a preferred source on Google