wanda's visit summary

• Pro Rights Application
• Nonpro Rights Application
• Pay Invoice Fees

Browse Plays

• Current Productions

Supplemental

The PlayFinder™

Men Women Total Cast

Wanda's Visit

• Browse by Title
• Browse by Author
• New Acquisitions
• Now Published
• Pulitzer Winners
• Tony Winners
• Special Collections
• Nonprofessional Rights Application
• Professional Rights Application
• Performance Rights Info
• Nonprofessional Licensing
• Competitions
• Change Performances Dates
• Cancel Licensed Performances
• International Licensing
• Author Bios
• Optional Materials
• Educator Discount
• Bookstore Discount
• Library Discount
• Applying for Rights
• Placing an Order
• Shipping Info
• Office Hours
• atPlay Newsletter

WANDA'S VISIT

by Durang, Christopher

Genre: Comedy

Set Interior

Licence UK & Ireland only

Jim and Marsha have been married for thriteen years and are feeling a little bored and unhappy. Wanda, Jim’s old girlfriend, shows up for a visit and becomes the guest from hell. Out one night for dinner, all hell breaks loose in the restaurant as a waiter tries to cope on his first day with the confused threesome.

Part of the collection of short plays entitled DURANG/DURANG.

Visit Christopher Durang’s website CLICK HERE

• Amateur licence
• Professional licence
• Reading copy

Other Suggestions

DURANG/DURANG

MRS. SORKEN, a middle-aged suburban matron is scheduled to give a lecture on the meaning of theatre, but has lost her notes. Relying on memory, her comments are dotty, but…...

'DENTITY CRISIS

Recovering from a nervous breakdown, Jane is nursed and nagged by her relentlessly cheerful mother, and confused by her oversexed brother—who keeps changing into her father, her grandfather and her…...

Cast 2 male 3 female

FOR WHOM THE SOUTHERN BELLE TOLLS

In this parody of THE GLASS MENAGERIE, the fading Southern belle, Amanda, tries to prepare her hyper-sensitive, hypochondriacal son, Lawrence, for "the feminine caller." Terrified of people, Lawrence plays with…...

Cast 2 male 2 female

LAUGHING WILD

In the first section of the play, a Woman enters and embarks on an increasingly frenetic (and funny) recital of the perils and frustrations of daily life in urban America—waiting…...

Cast 1 male 1 female

MARRIAGE OF BETTE AND BOO, THE

As the play begins Bette and Boo are being united in matrimony, surrounded by their beaming families. But as the further progress of their marriage is chronicled it becomes increasingly…...

Cast 5 male 5 female

A sketch co-authored by Durang and Wendy Wasserstein. Medea and her chorus of 3 woman try to figure out if it's appropriate to kill your children to punish your husband.…...

Cast 2 male 4 female

MRS. BOB CRATCHIT'S WILD CHRISTMAS BINGE

In this departure from Dickens, young Scrooge's exclamations of "Bah, humbug!" are an undiagnosed "kind of seasonal Tourette's Syndrome," and The Ghost of Christmas Past is played by a sassy…...

Cast 6 male 4 female

MRS. SORKEN

A middle-aged suburban matron is scheduled to give a lecture on the meaning of theatre, but has lost her notes. Relying on memory, her comments are dotty, but definitely endearing.…...

Cast 1 female

NAOMI IN THE LIVING ROOM

A collection of short plays by Christopher Durang. NAOMI IN THE LIVING ROOM. Naomi, when visited by John and Johnna, her son and daughter-in-law, is alternately friendly and insulting. Johanna…...

Cast 3 male 4 female

Book sales are now via our distribution partners at Central Books. Please browse the full list here . (We are updating our site to link to each title on their store.)

Christopher Durang’s Wanda’s Visit

Books Christopher Durang’s Wanda’s Visit 0

Last Updated on January 4, 2017

Wanda’s Visit is a one-act play written by Christopher Durang. It was written for the PBS series Trying Times. The play revolves around the life of the couple – Jim and Marsha. The story includes theme of human behavior, emotional conflicts, and relationships. The story demonstrates how Emotional conflicts between individuals can be driven by external/internal forces, and affects their relationships.

About the Author :

Christopher Durang was born in January 2, 1949. He is an American playwright popular during the 1980s. He is known for his outrageous works with absurd comedy. Some of his notable works are include Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You, Baby With the Bathwater, Beyond Therapy, Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge, Why Torture is Wrong.

Wanda’s visit is a short one-act comedy play. The couple, Jim and Marsha, faces difficulties after 13 years of their marriage. Their relationship starts fading after a restless life. One of the old friends of Jim, named Wanda sends a letter to him, asking to visit her. The visit of Wanda disrupts the happiness of the couple. Even though Jim is excited about visiting Wanda, Marsha does not seem to be happy of the visit.

Wanda is a good looking woman, who praises Jim as a wonderful man. She used to hug Jim and this makes Marsha jealous. Jim and Wanda are high school friends in a relationship. After the ex-girl- friend’s visit, Jim becomes more involved with her. She starts flirting with him and Jim also gets trapped because of her interest. Wanda’s outrageous behavior poses a threat to the marriage life and finally destroys it for good. After the Wanda’s visit, the couple realizes their love for one another and starts living happily again.

The emotional conflict in the play is induced through the characters’ psychological stability and socio-cultural backgrounds. The emotional responses to the display of sexism, female oppression and male superiority create the conflicts. Also, ignorance of feelings of the significant other and patterns of socialization turn the relationship for good.

Related Worksheets and Exercises

• Body Parts – A Free to Print Kids Book
• Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
• Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
• As You Like It by William Shakespeare
• The Merry Wives of Windsor by Shakespeare – Summary
• There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz
• Hamlet by William Shakespeare
• The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield
• The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers – Theme of Loneliness
• The Tempest by William Shakespeare

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Christopher Durang

Full Length Plays

Durang/Durang

an evening of plays

Durang/Durang was produced by

Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City

Artistic Director, Lynne Meadow, Managing Director, Barry Grove

November 14, 1994  

The evening consisted of six Durang one act plays.

Directed by Walter Bobbie

Scenic Design by Derek McLane

Lighting Design by Brian Nason

Costume Design by David C. Woolard

Sound Design by Tony Meola

  Production Stage Manager, Perry Cline, Stage Manager, Greg Fletcher

Cast for the Six Plays

ACT ONE: Theater

Mrs. Sorken

Patricia Elliott as Mrs. Sorken

For Whom The Southern Belle Tolls

Lizbeth Mackay as Amanda, Keith Reddin as Lawrence, David Aaron Baker as Tom, Patricia Randell as Ginny

A Stye Of The Eye

Marcus Giamatti as Jake, Becky Ann Baker as Ma, Patricia Elliott as Dr. Martina, Keith Reddin as Agnes/Beth, Lizbeth Mackay as Meg, David Aaron Baker as Wesley, Patricia Randell as Mae.

ACT TWO: Theater

Nina In The Morning

David Aaron Baker as Narrator, Patricia Randell as The Maid, Patricia Elliott as Nina, Keith Reddin as James/Robert/LaLa, Marcus Giamatti as Foote

Wanda's Visit

Marcus Giamatti as Jim, Lizbeth Mackay as Marsha, Becky Ann Baker as Wanda, David Aaron Baker as Waiter

Business Lunch At The Russian Tea Room

Keith Reddin as Chris, Patricia Elliott as Margaret, Marcus Giamatti as Waiter, Patricia Randell as Melissa Stearn, David Aaron Baker as Priest, Lizbeth Mackay as Rabbi

Durang/Durang is an evening of six one acts.  It is thus not a full length play, but it is a full evening.  

Prior to  Durang/Durang , the one act play  For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls  was presented in the spring of 1994 by Ensemble Studio Theatre (Curt Dempster, artistic director, Kevin Confoy, managing director) in New York City as part of its one-act Marathon ’94.  It was very much the hit of the evening, and it had the same director and cast who did it the following fall at Manhattan Theatre Club.

Baker, MacKay, Reddin, Randell

A few years before both of these productions, there was a showcase production of an earlier draft of  For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls , directed by Scott Allen and featuring Laura Waterbury as Amanda, John Money as Lawrence, Timothy Kivel as Tom, and Julie Knight as Ginny.

The short play  Mrs. Sorken  had an earlier incarnation at American Repertory Theatre in an evening called  Mrs. Sorken Presents , which featured the wonderful Elizabeth Franz as Mrs. Sorken.

The play  Wanda’s Visit   began as a teleplay for a PBS series called  Trying Times  in 1986.  This series asked different playwrights each to write a 30 minute teleplay about “difficult, trying events” that people lived through.  Beth Henley, Wendy Wasserstein, George C. Wolfe, Bernard Slade, Albert Innaurato all wrote teleplays for the series.  Durang’s was called  The Visit  and was directed by the wonderful actor (as well as director) Alan Arkin.  The terrific cast was Swoosie Kurtz, Jeff Daniels, Julie Hagerty.  (Durang played the waiter.)  The PBS contract allowed Durang the stage rights, and he adapted the piece for theatre for  Durang/Durang .

Some reviews for Durang/Durang included:

With the help of Mr. Durang, the fine art of parody has returned to … theater in a production you can sink your teeth and mind into, while also laughing like an idiot… Parody of this comic verve is as much fun as the marvelous party Noel Coward once sang about.  I couldn’t have enjoyed it more.

– Vincent Canby, New York Times 

If you need a break from serious drama, the place to go is… Christopher Durang’s silly, funny, over-the-top sketches, "DURANG/DURANG."  

– TheaterWeek

Christopher Durang’s new collection of six short plays has an impish, everybody-into-the-pool spirit about it; among those who get soaked are Sam Shepard and the tough-talking David Mamet.  The highlight is a hilarious parody of “The Glass Menagerie.”  … Sitting through “Durang/Durang” is a little like going on the bumper cars at an amusement park: you’re so caught up in the exhilarating hysteria that it doesn’t matter to you that you’re not actually going anywhere except – momentarily, blissfully – outside yourself. 

– Nancy Franklin, The New Yorker

No one in the American theater has a surer ear for, or can take more accurate aim at, the foibles of his fellow men, and particularly his fellow writers, than Christopher Durang, and this recent program of satirical skits and other parodies, given a first-rate production by the Manhattan Theater Club, showed Durang at his sweet and sour best. 

– Clive Barnes, Best of the Year Wrap-up, New York Post

Christopher Durang has provided a blissfully silly sendup of Tennessee Williams’s epochal memory play… Nimbly directed by Walter Bobbie, with an exuberant cast that knows just how far to push caricature, the spoof finds Mr. Durang playing his signature tricks with gender inversion, sexual reversal, and absurdist anachronisms to create a dysfunctional-family portrait…which deftly telescopes “Menagerie’s” plot (with lopsided variations on its most memorable lines), while illuminating its subtext with wickedness and knowing affection.  … Mr. Durang remains one of our funniest playwrights, and it’s nice to be reminded of the fact.  

– Ben Brantley, New York Times (on Ensemble Studio version)

The high point of the evening is Christopher Durang’s “For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls,” a delicious parody of “The Glass Menagerie,” with a male Laura (Laurence, who collects swizzle sticks rather than glass animals) and a Feminine Caller.  …it is hysterically funny.  Since I couldn’t control my laughter, it would be unfair to call the performances – by Lizbeth Mackay as the mother, Keith Reddin as Laurence, Patricia Randell as the butch Caller and David Aaron Baker as Tom – anything less than brilliant. 

– Howard Kissell,New York Daily News (on Ensemble Studio version)

Brief Descriptions:

Mrs. Sorken is an introductory, welcoming speech to the audience in which the over-articulate, somewhat dotty Mrs. Sorken explains her likes and dislikes about theatre, her views on the meaning of life, and what the audience can expect to see this evening.  (She says: “Act I is theatre parodies.  Act 2… is not.”)

The Evening Star

MacKay and Reddin

For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls  is a parody of Tennessee Williams wonderful play The Glass Menagerie.  

In this version Amanda is frustrated with her over-sensitive, hypochondriac son named Lawrence.  Lawrence refuses to leave the house or get a job; he’s too shy to ever met anyone; and he spends all his time playing with his collection of glass cocktail stirrers.  (“This one is called string bean because it’s long and thin,” he says.  “I call this one thermometer because it looks like a thermometer.”  “All my children have such imagination,” Amanda says with despair.)  

Lawrence’s more regular brother Tom brings home a “feminine caller” from the warehouse, and Lawrence is overwhelmed by the butch girl Ginny who is deaf and shouts all the time.  Ginny and Lawrence eventually sort of hit it off, and she teaches him how to swagger and talk about baseball in a loud voice.  But then she leaves, and Tom goes off to the movies (where he has a tendency to meet and bring home sailors who have missed their boat), and Amanda is stuck forever with hopeless Lawrence

A Stye of the Eye  is a giddy parody of Sam Shepard plays, especially  Lie of the Mind ,  Fool for Love , a bit of  Curse of the Starving Class , with bits of John Pielmier’s  Agnes of God  and David Mamet’s  Glengarry Glen Ross  thrown in for good measure.  The audience at Manhattan Theatre Club didn’t really know those plays that well, but they seemed to accept and enjoy the play as a parody of a kind of drama – poetic, symbolic drama seeped in the myth of the American west.  

The story tells of two brothers, crazy violent Jake and sensible Frank.  Jake has almost killed his wife Beth, leaving her brain damaged.  Jake and Frank are played by the same actor, causing their Ma to say to Frank: “You know, you and Jake sound so much alike that sometimes I think you’re both two different aspects of the same personality.  That means I give birth to a symbol, and me with no college edjacation.”  

Beth wanders home to her blowsy, sexy mother Meg and her spacey brother Wesley.  Beth talks in nonsense syllables now, which Meg seems to enjoy.  Wesley wanders around in his underwear, splattered in lamb’s blood.  Jake and Frankie show up, and so does their sister Mae who’s in love with both of them.  Meg develops styes in her eyes, which seem symbolic.  Ma goes blind.  Mae finds a pair of cymbals and crashes them together.  Jake kills Frankie, but survives.  He leaves to go further out west.  They all ponder the depth of it all while a coyote howls.

Nina in the Morning is a mysterious, funny play about an extremely wealthy, narcissistic woman named Nina.  Her face lift has fallen this morning, and her plastic surgeon is unreachable, on vacation in Aruba.  She has three children (all played by the same actor), two of whom keep trying to kill her; the third one is the mentally challenged girl LaLa, whom Nina keeps accusing of being “willfully retarded.”  While her servant Foote follows her bidding (including giving one of her sons a knockout shot; Foote used to be a dentist), an elegant Narrator describes past events in Nina’s life which she recalls and sometimes relives (many seductions, especially of chauffeurs and house painters).  Finally one of her children shoots her in the shoulder, and Nina becomes discouraged and considers suicide.  On the other hand, it’s near lunch time.  She’s left debating to herself: “Death… or lunch.  Death…. or lunch.”  

( From Durang: note on Nina.   “Because the earlier two plays were parodies, many audience members thought this was a parody, and due to its wealthy characters and formal speech, they thought it was maybe a parody of Edward Albee dramas.  It isn’t really.  It is its own strange thing.  If anything, it kind of resembles the deadpan Gothic world of the artist/writer Edward Gorey, though that connection was not consciously pursued on my part.  Anyway, it’s a quirky piece, though I think funny.”)

Wanda’s Visit tells the story of a suburban couple, Jim and Marsha, who are starting to feel a little stuck in their marriage after 13 years.  Not unhappy, just… restless.  Jim gets a letter from an old high school girl friend named Wanda, who asks to come visit.  Jim is excited by the prospect of this visit, but Marsha dreads it (but doesn’t say so).  Wanda shows up, and she’s quite a handful.  Red haired and vibrant, wearing bright colors and talking non-stop, Wanda is warm and overwhelming.  She hugs Jim a lot, and keeps telling Marsha how great he is.  Then she bursts into tears, saying that in high school everyone presumed she and Jim would get married.  Jim is totally shocked and asks “who presumed this?”  “Well, everyone,” says Wanda.  “My mother, my father, me, everyone.”  

Wanda proceeds to chronicle for them the lengthy and endless details of her years of promiscuity, her bad choices in men, and her getting facial surgery to avoid detection from some kingpin of crime.  In the morning Wanda cons Jim into giving her a back rub, which Marsha walks in on.  Jim is finding Wanda nerve-wracking, and yet he’s also flattered by her interest in him.  

Finally they all go to a restaurant where Wanda is taken out of their lives in a surprise development, and Jim and Marsha are left to think about the visit: it stirred them up, kind of, it encouraged them to take an aerobics class together; now if only they were happy.

Business Lunch at the Russian Tea Room tells of a playwright named Chris who’s doing his laundry.  His agent Margaret reminds him that he has a meeting about a possible film writing job with a hot shot movie executive at the Russian Tea Room.  Chris goes to the meeting, and the Russian waiter is mysteriously hostile to Chris.  Then Melissa Stearn arrives.  She talks a mile a minute, she initially think Chris is the playwright Craig Lucas, and she is filled with countless opinions and ideas, with little alarming insights into her personal life.  (“I’m involved in six lawsuits right now, one of them against my mother.  I’m gonna make her beg.”)  

She then tells Chris the brilliant idea she’d like him to turn into a screenplay: “It’s about a Catholic priest and a rabbi, who fall in love and then, O. Henry-style, each has a sex change without telling the other one.”  Chris is speechless at this, and she then pitches several more alarming ideas.  Finally Chris gets out of there, but later thinks how needs the money, and we start to see inside his head as he tries to write this “priest/rabbi” movie.  Finally, he becomes overwhelmed and decides to turn the project down and just focus on the honest task of matching his socks in the laundry.  The fictional Priest and Rabbi come over to help him match socks, as the play ends.

Durang/Durang was successful with audiences at Manhattan Theatre Club, and is a varied, playful evening.  Audiences who knew The Glass Menagerie and at least some Sam Shepard work seemed to especially enjoy the parody, of course; but audiences who didn’t know what specific plays were being parodied seemed to enjoy them too – in For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls they enjoyed Amanda’s struggling with her two sons as a nutty comedy of parent-child confrontation; and in A Stye of the Eye they seemed to enjoy the silliness of this over-the-top, poetic, out west world.

The one acts can be done separately, as well, or in different combinations.  In the 1996 South Coast Repertory Theatre in Costa Mesa, California did a similar evening called A Mess of Plays by Chris Durang , which included For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls , but otherwise featured a string of 10 minute Durang plays, including Naomi in the Living Room, Funeral Parlour , John and Mary Doe , and about 7 or 8 other ones.  (The 10 minute plays in the South Coast evening are all published in the DPS book Naomi in the Living Room and Other Short Plays .   For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls is published in the DPS book Durang/Durang .)

And in summer 1997 yet another evening of Durang one acts was presented by Birnam Wood Productions at the John Drew Theatre in East Hampton, New York, suitably entitled Mix and Match Durang .  The plays on that evening were Naomi in the Living Room , Kitty the Waitress , Funeral Parlour , Gym Teacher , The Hardy Boys and the Mystery of Where Babies Come From , “ Desire, Desire, Desire ”, and Business Lunch at the Russian Tea Room .  (All those plays are in the DPS book Naomi in the Living Room and Other Short Plays, except for Business Lunch

Cast size: (for Durang/Durang ) 3 male, 4 female Rights:  Dramatists Play Service

Note : The cast size above relates to presenting all six plays in Durang/Durang.  Individual one acts among the 6 have smaller cast requirements.   Mrs. Sorken requires 1 female.  For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls requires 2 male, 2 female.   A Stye of the Eye requires 3 male, 4 female (though it could be done with 3 female, if you doubled Meg and Dr. Martina).   Nina in the Morning requires 3 male, 1 female.  (At MTC they added  a second female to play a silent maid, but that’s optional.)   Wanda in the Morning requires 1 male, 2 female.   Business Lunch at the Russian Tea Room requires 3 male, 3 female, at least as done at MTC where we had an actress play the Rabbi.  If you choose to double cast the waiter as the rabbi, that would make the cast be 3 male, 2 female.  ​

Everything You Need to Know Going into Marvel Studios’ 'WandaVision'

Stream the first two episode of the brand-new series tomorrow on disney+.

Marvel Studios’ captivating new original series WandaVision , the Studios’ first series streaming exclusively on Disney+, premieres tomorrow! In the series, Wanda Maximoff and Vision – two super-powered beings living idealized suburban lives – begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.

To help you get ready for WandaVision , which blends classic sitcoms and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we’ve got a handy guide navigating everything you need to know going into the series!

The nine-episode series, created much like a motion picture would be, is an exploration of the relationship between Wanda and Vision, who are kicking off married life together and setting roots in the town of Westview.

Wanda Maximoff and Vision say goodbye to city strife, and settle into a quiet suburban life in their new hometown of Westview. Try as Wanda may to fit in and conceal her powers from neighbors, merry domestic mishaps call this magical maven to action! With a magical wiggle of her fingers, is there anything she can’t do, or conflict she can’t resolve?

Head writer Jac Schaeffer says Wanda has a simple desire. “What she wants more than anything is to live happily with her husband in this community and to make friends and to be a part of the community.”

WandaVision stars Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany , reprising their roles as Wanda Maximoff and Vision , respectively. Interested in where we last left off with the duo? Read our primers on Where We Last Left Off with Wanda  and Where We Last Left Off with Vision . Then, watch the duo in the Virtual Live Event below.

Joining Olsen and Bettany are Kat Dennings , who reprises her role as Darcy Lewis from Marvel Studios’ Thor and Thor: The Dark World ; Randall Park , who reprises his role as FBI Agent Jimmy Woo from Ant-Man and The Wasp ; and newcomers Kathyrn Hahn , who plays their nosy neighbor Agnes, and Teyonah Parris , who plays the adult Monica Rambeau , who was first introduced in Captain Marvel . Watch Parris, Hahn, Park, and Dennings share some insight in how they all came to be in the series in the video above!

Original Theme Songs

Oscar-winning songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez ( Frozen ) were enlisted to pen unique songs for several episodes, including the original theme song, spanning from the 1950s to the early 2000s.

Lopez previously shared , “ WandaVision is such a cool, strange, one-of-a-kind project. When the director, Matt Shakman — an old friend from my college days — pitched it to us, we didn’t have to think about it. We loved the bright feeling of American sitcoms mixed with the deep sense of unease the story had, and it was a really inviting challenge to help set that tone.”

“That is one of my favorite things to talk about,” exclaimed head writer Jac Schaeffer. “Every episode is a different era. Each episode was assigned to a different writer, and it turned into this thing in the writer's room, then we had Bobby and Kristen come in. When they came in, and we did the read through of the episode, they would have to sing their theme song. They had to come up with melodies, as well. It was the best thing that ever happened, and there's one in particular that they kind of did together. It was on a night when I was doing a polish, and they were all in the room. They came up with this crazy song, and all sang it for me together. It was so fun.”

Don’t turn that dial because the tunes aren’t the only special thing unique to each episode!

Live Studio Audience

To get in the spirit of classic sitcoms, the first episode of WandaVision was filmed in front of a live studio audience and completed within two days!

Noting that aspect, “That’s what they actually did for The Dick Van Dyke Show ,” stated cinematographer Jess Hall. “That’s how they shot The Dick Van Dyke Show . Matt [Shakman] dug into a lot of history about that, and I dug into it as well. There is something in the live event that is irreplaceable; there’s something special in that performative moment.”

Not only that, in capturing the magic, the production filmed on the legendary Blondie Street at the Warner Bros. Studio Ranch in Burbank, California.

Capturing that Classic Television Magic

In addition to filming in front of a live studio audience on the lot where classic television sitcoms were filmed, WandaVision took on the task of filming in black & white for a few episodes as well.

Cinematographer Jess Hall talked about the herculean efforts it took to pull off black & white filming, and how many departments it required. “You'd look at a set, a wardrobe, or my light, and everything just hopefully would just coagulate into a beautiful alchemy of period authenticity,” mentioned Hall. “It was a lot of cross-departmental work.”

What the Folks Behind the Series Want You to Know!

“First of all, we are going to crush it with the Nick at Nite crowd and those TCM viewers who haven't seen Avengers: Endgame , they are going to be down,” joked series showrunner and executive producer Matt Shakman. “That’s the interesting thing. We are creating something that is in the MCU, so it will appeal to, we hope, all of the MCU fans out there. But at the same time, we are bringing the MCU to television. The show was, by design, a giant love letter to the history of television. It is intentionally throwing our arms around all of the amazing work that has come before in television, starting with Dick Van Dyke in the '50s and '60s all the way up to today. So I hope that, much like the MCU films, that this has a little something in it for everybody.”

“What can I say that's not a spoiler? There's a lot of focus on Wanda in the press, in the speculation, and I feel very attached to Vision's arc,” teased head writer Jac Schaeffer. “I love both Lizzie and Paul, and working with the two of them was one of the most fruitful experiences of my career. Paul was so game for both the comedy and the heart of it. I think people are going to feel very tied to him and very tied to what he experiences in the series.”

Interested in knowing more? Here are our 10 key takeaways from the  WandaVision  Press Conference !

Keep Your Eyes Peeled

“Pay attention to the neighborhood,” dished production designer Mark Worthington to Marvel.com. He means that quite literally!

Elaborating, Worthington added, “Pay attention to where the residential street that Wanda and Vision live, because there might be something there that interests you!”

Can't get enough? The cast and creators of  WandaVision   reveal the magic of the show to  Earth's Mightiest Show  below!

Want to learn how the MCU’s favorite couple,  Wanda Maximoff  and  Vision , find themselves in Westview? Don’t miss the premiere of Marvel Studios’  WandaVision  on Friday, January 15, streaming on Disney+!

Want more exciting information about Phase 4? Find the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe news right  here  — and stay tuned for more!

This is just the beginning of the Phase 4 news. Stay tuned to  Marvel.com  for more details! And be sure to follow Marvel on  Facebook ,  Twitter , and  Instagram .

Looking for more Marvel movies and shows to stream? Check out everything on Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ right  here , and where to find all your favorite Super Heroes right  here .  Sign up for Disney+ and start streaming now !

Looking for more Marvel movies and shows to stream? Check out everything on Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ right here, and where to find all your favorite Super Heroes right here. Sign up for Disney+ and start streaming now!

The Hype Box

Can’t-miss news and updates from across the Marvel Universe!

'Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra' Reveals New Story Trailer

April 3's New Marvel Comics: The Full List

Marvel Rivals PVP Shooter Boasts Incredible Lineup of Marvel Characters

Marvel Animation's 'X-Men '97' Releases 'A New Age' Featurette

Marvel Unlimited Launches New Program That Offers Access to Infinity Comics for Free

Check out never-before-seen covers for 'Scarlet Witch' #1 by P. Craig Russell and Jenny Frison.

Check out new Black Costume Variant Covers, on sale in May.

Let 'X-Men: Forever' answer all your burning questions, behold the future of the Spider-Verse, and more in this week's comics!

Binge-watch the final season of the hit cartoon, then head over to Marvel Unlimited to read the comics behind each episode!

‘WandaVision,’ explained: An episode-by-episode guide

• Show more sharing options
• Copy Link URL Copied!

The first Disney+ original series set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “WandaVision” follows superpowered newlyweds starting their life together in a quaint New Jersey suburb.

Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany reprise their roles as Wanda Maximoff and Vision in a series that is as much a tribute to television history as it is their characters’ relationship. But over the course of its run, “WandaVision” — which costars Kathryn Hahn , Teyonah Parris, Randall Park and Kat Dennings as Marvel characters old and new — reveals that there is much more to Wanda and Vision’s sitcom life than meets the eye.

The first installment of the MCU’s Phase 4 , “WandaVision” draws from the franchise’s 20-plus-year history in addition to various Marvel comic books for its story. Although the show has plenty to appeal to the full spectrum of MCU fans, familiarity with the franchise is a plus. Here is our episode-by-episode “WandaVision” guide, highlighting key references and comic book backstories to help answer your questions. To avoid spoilers, read each explainer after you’ve watched the episode(s) referred to in the headline.

Episodes 1 and 2: Wanda and Vision

The Scarlet Witch and her synthezoid husband are no strangers to life in the suburbs. We dig into the comic storylines that explain the series’ sitcom world.

Jan. 15, 2021

Episode 3: Billy and Tommy

The arrival of Wanda and Vision’s twins might signal the introduction of two new characters to the MCU. We delve into the comics to explain why.

Jan. 22, 2021

Episode 4: Geraldine

Teyonah Parris’ Geraldine has often appeared disoriented in “WandaVision.” The fourth episode reveals her true identity. Here’s what you need to know.

Jan. 29, 2021

Episode 4: Jimmy and Darcy

How did an FBI agent and a scientist team up to investigate a New Jersey suburb? We lay out the details of their Marvel backstories here.

Ad Break: About those commercials

Each fake ad in the Disney+ series has revealed key information about what’s really going on in Westview. Read our guide to what they mean.

March 4, 2021

Episodes 5 and 6: Pietro

Evan Peters, not Aaron Taylor-Johnson, turns up as Wanda’s brother at the end of “WandaVision’s” fifth episode. Here’s what it means — and why it matters.

Feb. 5, 2021

Episode 7: Agnes

Wanda and Vision’s wacky neighbor, Agnes (played by Kathryn Hahn), has a big secret. Here’s the comic book backstory behind it all.

Feb. 19, 2021

Episode 8: The Scarlet Witch

After exploring the events in Wanda’s life that led to Westview’s sitcom illusion, “WandaVision” finally calls her “the Scarlet Witch.” Here’s why it matters.

Feb. 26, 2021

Episode 9: The Future

“WandaVision” may be over, but it’s not the last we’ll see of Wanda, Monica and other key characters. Here’s what to expect.

March 5, 2021

More From the Los Angeles Times

Travel & Experiences

The unmissable addition to Disneyland’s Star Tours ride? Space whales

April 9, 2024

A stairwell at Cartoon Network Studios captured 20 years of history. Now you can see it, too

April 8, 2024

Entertainment & Arts

Jonathan Majors avoids jail time in assault of ex-girlfriend, must attend domestic violence program

Want to see Disneyland’s most advanced animatronics? Visit Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

April 4, 2024

‘WandaVision’ Is Better as a Weird Marvel Swing Than Sitcom Twist: TV Review

The new Disney Plus series, starring Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany, strands Wanda and Vision in an eerie sitcom world.

By Caroline Framke

Caroline Framke

Chief TV Critic

• How Streaming TV Turned the Premier League Into a Great American Pastime 1 year ago
• FIFA, Qatar and Cowardly Hypocrisy Has Sucked the Joy Out of Watching the World Cup 1 year ago
• ‘Pitch Perfect: Bumper In Berlin’ Is a Spinoff Without A Purpose: TV Review 1 year ago

Given the phrase “ Marvel Cinematic Universe TV show,” your mind probably doesn’t conjure up anything that looks like “ WandaVision ,” the first episodic series from Marvel Studios. (“Marvel Television,” which produced series like “Jessica Jones” and “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” is effectively no more .) After two dozen movies teeming with chiseled heroes, bombastic violence and swelling orchestras signaling some catastrophic twist, “WandaVision” throws Wanda Maximoff ( Elizabeth Olsen ) and Vision (Paul Bettany), two of the MCU’s most powerful and tragic characters, into the jarringly low-stakes world of a picture-perfect sitcom neighborhood circa 1950-something. Gone are the sprawling military bases, high tech galactic speedsters and far flung corners of the Earth that acted as backdrops for the Avengers’ latest battles. Instead, Wanda and Vision have to bumble their way through a series of classic sitcom storylines without their nosy neighbors realizing that they’re living next to a witch and the walking, talking personification of the galaxy’s most powerful AI. There’s no explanation for why Wanda and Vision are seemingly living out an archetypical suburban fantasy, but as eventually becomes clear, it may not entirely be their choice.

In the three episodes screened for critics out of the season’s eventual 10, Jac Schaeffer’s “WandaVision” proves itself to be, if nothing else, an impressive replication of bygone sitcoms. The first two episodes are in black and white, paying homage to shows like “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “Bewitched” so meticulously that they often feel like 1-to-1 recreations. Their screwball plots feature Wanda trying to entertain Vision’s cranky boss (Fred Melamed) and wife (Debra Jo Rupp) with the help of her chirpy neighbor (Kathryn Hahn), or winning over a skeptical mom (Emma Caulfield) who rules the neighborhood with an iron fist and poison smile. The third episode, rendered in splashy Technicolor, swaps the set for one more obviously mimicking “The Brady Bunch,” with the time period adjusting to match.

Popular on Variety

If you’re a casual Marvel viewer rather than an obsessive, coming across this series may just be confusing. (As if anticipating exactly that, Disney Plus has released two short “Legends” summaries of Wanda and Vision’s overall arcs within the MCU to date — and they are, I’ll admit, pretty helpful.) And if you’re at all a fan of the classic shows that inspired it…well, maybe you’ll just leave “WandaVision” wanting to watch the classic shows that inspired it. Despite their comedy frameworks, none of the episodes are particularly funny. The “jokes” are really just recreating the rhythm of classic sitcom dialogue and adjusting them to fit the fact that Marvel characters are saying them with the vague sense that they don’t belong here. In fact, the series’ best moments are the ones that underline that uneasy combination as Wanda and Vision struggle to understand what exactly is going on in this picket fence snow globe of a world they’re suddenly living in.

In this early going, “WandaVision” is more interesting for its place within the Marvel behemoth than an immediately great show in and of itself. A pre-pandemic world might have seen something more straightforwardly of a piece with the MCU, like “Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” premiere first. But whether accidentally or on purpose, “WandaVision” is an admirably weird introduction to the new age of Marvel TV. Yes, this show and every one of the roughly ten thousand other ones on the way will inevitably have to connect back to the blockbuster movies. After all, the first priority for Marvel will still be getting every possible fan invested in everything the studio has to offer. At the very least, though, Marvel and Disney’s aggressive campaign to flood the market with #content might be a bit less annoying if some of its shows can get strange without worrying too hard about losing its biggest possible audience.

From a pure aesthetic standpoint, it’s surprising and undeniably effective to see “WandaVision” twist the established Marvel brand to fit a very specific, entirely different mode. Bettany’s clearly having fun letting looser in “WandaVision” than he ever could in something like “Avengers: Infinity War,” though direct comparisons of this “aw, shucks” iteration of Vision to the elastic Dick Van Dyke performance that obviously inspired it don’t do Bettany any favors. Olsen, by contrast, does a remarkable job balancing her understanding of Wanda with the depictions of Good Sitcom Wife that suddenly shape her (especially Mary Tyler Moore and Elizabeth Montgomery’s gently plucky characterizations in “Dick Van Dyke” and “Bewitched,” respectively). There are enough precarious moments in each “WandaVision” episode that make it clear the show might not work at all, in fact, without a nuanced actor like Olsen tethering it to some kind of reality.

As far as the supporting cast, it’s hard to imagine better fits for this high concept than Hahn and Caulfield, both deft comedic actresses capable of turning on a dime from cheery enthusiasm to something far more ominous. And as “Geraldine,” Teyonah Parris delivers one of the show’s smartest performances as her character vacillates — or more accurately, code switches — between “sassy Black friend” and quietly bemused participant in a world she doesn’t quite understand.

Because no, of course things in “WandaVision” are not quite as they seem. While there are no concrete answers to be found in the first few episodes, there are clues and eerie moments that make plain that the stakes of their supposedly blissful domestic life aren’t nearly as low as advertised. Despite its character and dialogue beats, “WandaVision” isn’t a sitcom; it’s a sinister thriller wearing respectable clothes and an unnervingly bright grin. It’s “Pleasantville,” if “Pleasantville” opened with the characters stuck inside the black and white television. When “WandaVision” leans into this uncanny-valley side of itself, it works much better than it does when it’s just going through the sitcom motions others have done better before.

The first two episodes of “WandaVision” premiere Friday, January 15, with new episodes then premiering weekly on Disney Plus.

• Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Kathryn Hahn, Teyonah Parris

More From Our Brands

Taylor swift and travis kelce dance to ice spice, bleachers at coachella 2024, meet the bentley flying spur speed, robb report’s 2024 car of the year runner up, coyotes’ name, logo to remain in phoenix while team relocates, be tough on dirt but gentle on your body with the best soaps for sensitive skin, snl video: kate mckinnon returns to manhandle ryan gosling during another steamy alien abduction, verify it's you, please log in.

• Today's news
• Reviews and deals
• Climate change
• 2024 election
• Fall allergies
• Health news
• Mental health
• Sexual health
• Family health
• So mini ways
• Unapologetically
• Buying guides

Entertainment

• How to Watch
• My watchlist
• Stock market
• Biden economy
• Personal finance
• Stocks: most active
• Stocks: gainers
• Stocks: losers
• Trending tickers
• World indices
• US Treasury bonds
• Top mutual funds
• Highest open interest
• Highest implied volatility
• Currency converter
• Basic materials
• Communication services
• Consumer cyclical
• Consumer defensive
• Financial services
• Industrials
• Real estate
• Mutual funds
• Credit cards
• Credit card rates
• Balance transfer credit cards
• Business credit cards
• Cash back credit cards
• Rewards credit cards
• Travel credit cards
• Checking accounts
• Online checking accounts
• High-yield savings accounts
• Money market accounts
• Personal loans
• Student loans
• Car insurance
• Home buying
• Options pit
• Investment ideas
• Research reports
• Fantasy football
• Pro Pick 'Em
• College Pick 'Em
• Fantasy baseball
• Fantasy hockey
• Fantasy basketball
• Download the app
• Daily fantasy
• Scores and schedules
• GameChannel
• World Baseball Classic
• Premier League
• CONCACAF League
• Champions League
• Motorsports
• Horse racing
• Newsletters

New on Yahoo

• Privacy Dashboard

'WandaVision,' explained: An episode-by-episode guide

• Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below

The first Disney+ original series set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, "WandaVision" follows superpowered newlyweds starting their life together in a quaint New Jersey suburb.Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany reprise their roles as Wanda Maximoff and Vision in a series that is as much a tribute to television history as it is their characters' relationship. But over the course of its run, "WandaVision" — which costars Kathryn Hahn, Teyonah Parris, Randall Park and Kat Dennings as Marvel characters old and new — reveals that there is much more to Wanda and Vision's sitcom life than meets the eye.The first installment of the MCU's Phase 4, "WandaVision" draws from the franchise's 20-plus-year history in addition to various Marvel comic books for its story. Although the show has plenty to appeal to the full spectrum of MCU fans, familiarity with the franchise is a plus. Here is our episode-by-episode "WandaVision" guide, highlighting key references and comic book backstories to help answer your questions. To avoid spoilers, read each explainer after you've watched the episode(s) referred to in the headline.

Recommended Stories

Nike responds to backlash over team usa track kits, notes athletes can wear shorts.

The new female track uniform looked noticeably skimpy at the bottom in one picture, which social media seized upon.

UFC 300: Max Holloway takes 'BMF' title with one of the wildest KOs in MMA history

Max Holloway is a certified BMF. And then some.

'Sasquatch Sunset' is so relentlessly gross that people are walking out of screenings. Star Jesse Eisenberg says the film was a ‘labor of love.’

“There are so many movies made for people who like typical things. This is not that," the film's star told Yahoo Entertainment.

76ers' statue for Allen Iverson draws jokes, outrage due to misunderstanding: 'That was disrespectful'

Iverson didn't get a life-size statue. Charles Barkley and Wilt Chamberlain didn't either.

UFC 300: Kayla Harrison introduces herself to UFC fans with utter domination of Holly Holm

Harrison was quick to call for a title fight after the win, and it's hard to imagine why she wouldn't get it.

Masters: Augusta National asked Jason Day to take off billboard sweater

At Augusta National, green jackets are a fashion statement. Sweaters with billboard-size logos, not so much.

Travis Kelce receives his University of Cincinnati diploma, chugs a beer on stage

Nobody is going to change the Kelce brothers.

UFC 300: Kayla Harrison makes weight before bantamweight bout versus Holly Holm

Kayla Harrison made the 135-pound weight limit required for her bantamweight bout at UFC 300 versus Holly Holm. It's the lowest weight at which she has ever fought.

2025 Toyota 4Runner (finally!) revealed, and the new Trailhunter is extremely cool

The 2025 Toyota 4Runner is finally arriving this fall with a full lineup including returning TRD Pro and new Trailhunter. Hybrid power now available.

UFC 300: Alex Pereira emphatically defends light heavyweight belt with 1st-round KO of Jamahal Hill

Alex Pereira is a dangerous man.

2024 NBA Awards: All-NBA, All-Defensive and All-Rookie selections

Here's one voter's awards ballot with All-NBA, All-Defensive and All-Rookie selections.

Republicans (?!?) are killing a tax cut

In a flip of the usual priorities, Senate Republicans seem likely to kill a set of tax cuts that have already passed the House and are broadly popular. Here's why.

2024 NBA Awards: Official picks for MVP, Rookie of the Year and every individual honor

With the 2023-24 NBA season coming to an end, here's one voter's award ballot, breaking down the top candidates — and declaring the winners.

Alex Sarr, potential No. 1 pick, declares for 2024 NBA Draft

International basketball prospect Alex Sarr declared for the 2024 NBA Draft. Playing this season for Perth in Australia's National Basketball League, Sarr is projected as a No. 1 overall selection.

2024 NFL Draft guide: 32 teams, 32 needs, picks, best fits and more

What selections does your team have? What areas should it address? Who's the dream fantasy pick? We cover all that and more for every franchise right here.

Fantasy Baseball Trade Analyzer: Players to sell high, buy low — and one to go all-in on

April is the perfect time of the season to buy low, sell low, buy high and sell high on key players — but you need to know who fits in what department. Fred Zinkie helps fantasy baseball managers with an initial batch.

Report: Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore planned significant payroll cuts with Timberwolves

Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore reportedly planned to bring the Timberwolves below the projected luxury tax threshold next season, which left Glen Taylor very concerned.

NBA Playoff Picture: Everything at stake entering Friday with 17 teams still playing for seeding

Here are the latest updates on the landscape, including magic numbers, relevant tiebreakers and the stakes for Friday's slate of games.

2024 NFL Draft: Top 100 big board goes in-depth on names to know ahead of marquee offseason event

Yahoo Sports' Nate Tice has Drake Maye at No. 1, Caleb Williams at No. 2, and a whole lot of intrigue after in a deep class at wide receiver, offensive line and cornerback.

Why Caitlin Clark's WNBA transition won’t be all layups and easy passes

The WNBA’s best will be ready and waiting for the likely No. 1 overall selection. And by the time Clark’s rookie season is done, she will have played almost non-stop for a calendar year.

WandaVision explained: here's everything we know about the Marvel show

Our master list of recaps and guides to every part of the show

On TechRadar, we've covered the Disney Plus series WandaVision in detail – and on this page, you'll find pretty much everything we've written about it, from episodic recaps to explainers. 

Following 23 Marvel movies , WandaVision is the first TV show set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The series combines MCU action with riffs on classic sitcoms, and sees magic-wielding Sokovian Avenger Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and the synthetic, thought-dead Avenger Vision (Paul Bettany) settling down for suburban life in the town of Westview. 

Naturally, not all is as it seems. And as the show has developed, its sitcom façade has crumbled to reveal some more disturbing goings-on in the town – as well as hinting at wider implications for the MCU at large.

Want to know everything about WandaVision? Now the series has wrapped up, you'll find everything here. Expect some spoilers in the article headlines below – we recommend reading these when you're up-to-date with WandaVision on Disney Plus.

• Will there be a WandaVision season 2 ?
• What we know about the Loki TV show
• The Falcon and the Winter Soldier explained

WandaVision recaps: every episode reviewed

Want a full recap of each WandaVision episode? Every week, TechRadar went through each chapter in rigorous detail, picking out trivia and other parts you might've missed.

• WandaVision episode 1 recap : Vision's boss comes to dinner
• WandaVision episode 2 recap : A magic show gone wrong
• WandaVision episode 3 recap : What's really going on in Westview?
• WandaVision episode 4 recap : Who is Monica Rambeau?
• WandaVision episode 5 recap : Sparky the dog!
• WandaVision episode 6 recap : A long-lost character comes to town
• WandaVision episode 7 recap : The biggest reveal yet
• WandaVision episode 8 recap : Answers, at last!
• WandaVision episode 9 recap : A satisfying but muddled ending

WandaVision explainers: breaking down key points in each episode

Each week, as new mysteries were added to the mix, or more characters popped up in the show, we broke down the key parts from each episode. You'll find all our existing explainers below.

• When is WandaVision set in the MCU timeline?
• SWORD in WandaVision explained
• Who is Monica Rambeau in WandaVision?
• Quicksilver in WandaVision explained
• Why there's more to Tommy and Billy in WandaVision than meets the eye
• Is Mephisto the secret villain of WandaVision?
• WandaVision episode 6's spooky commercial explained
• WandaVision episode 7's commercial is about the future of the MCU
• WandaVision episode 7's mid-credits scene explained
• WandaVision episode 8's mid-credits scene explained
• Wanda's origins just changed in episode 8, but how?
• WandaVision episode 9 mid-credits scene explained, and how it ties in to Captain Marvel 2
• Locke and Key season 2 explained

Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox

Get the hottest deals available in your inbox plus news, reviews, opinion, analysis and more from the TechRadar team.

Samuel is a PR Manager at game developer Frontier. Formerly TechRadar's Senior Entertainment Editor, he's an expert in Marvel, Star Wars, Netflix shows and general streaming stuff. Before his stint at TechRadar, he spent six years at PC Gamer. Samuel is also the co-host of the popular Back Page podcast, in which he details the trials and tribulations of being a games magazine editor – and attempts to justify his impulsive eBay games buying binges.

The next Star Wars show on Disney Plus is coming, inevitably, on May the 4th – here's the trailer

Disney Plus' password crackdown starts in June, but you might not be affected right away

Microsoft's Windows 11 AI love-in looks set to continue – here are 3 big risks it needs to avoid

Most Popular

• 2 Windows 11’s next big update is here – these are the top 5 features introduced with Moment 5
• 3 Android phones finally get their first AirTag-style trackers – here's how they work
• 4 Meta is on the brink of releasing AI models it claims to have "human-level cognition" - hinting at new models capable of more than simple conversations
• 5 Kobo Libra Colour review: twice improved for better reading and writing
• 2 Your aging Roku TV is about to get a beautiful, free update
• 3 I swapped my Apple Watch for a vintage Casio Chronograph – here are 8 surprising things I learned
• 4 Android phones finally get their first AirTag-style trackers – here's how they work
• 5 iPadOS 17.5 all but confirms an OLED upgrade for the iPad Pro 2024’s screen

Marvel’s ‘WandaVision’ is a deep exploration of trauma (and how we traumatize others)

Superheroes Wanda Maximoff and Vision, the protagonists of the hit show “WandaVision” on Disney+, don’t quite understand what’s happening around them, but they do know that they must hide their powers and learn to fit in. They are simply happy to be together. The boss and his wife are coming to dinner and Wanda must impress with her homemaking skills. Comedic shenanigans and mischief ensue.

And so it is with every episode of “WandaVision,” a new black and white, 4:3 aspect ratio offering from Marvel Cinematic Universe. Wanda (Elizabeth Olson) and Vision (Paul Bettany), a couple who once played only supporting roles in the “Avengers” films, are the stars of the show. Stranger still, with each episode, the show’s world advances a decade, drawing inspiration along the way from beloved American sitcoms like “I Love Lucy,” “Bewitched” and “The Brady Bunch.” But—even as their world changes—the people of Westview, N.J., stay the same.

Every new decade of WandaVision’s world leaves the audience with a sense of eeriness... the sole purpose of most of the supporting characters is to serve Wanda’s narrative,

Every new decade of WandaVision’s world leaves the audience with a sense of eeriness. It becomes increasingly clear that the sole purpose of most of the supporting characters is to serve Wanda’s narrative, and that something is bizarrely wrong, that the people of the town are all intricately tied to Wanda. These poignant “Twilight Zone” moments are intriguing and demand the audience to invest in the couple’s life, coaxing us into returning, reminding us to “Please Stand By,” episode after episode.

Mainstream television programming requires an appeal to common themes and tropes if it is to reach a broad and diverse audience. This nine-episode mini-series capitalizes on that broad appeal, while simultaneously pressing audiences to work harder as they enter a whole world of complex storytelling, cinematic style and gendered perspectives—all in mythic proportions.

Is Westview even a real place? Yes. But at the end of the third episode, we learn that Wanda, in a moment of uncircumventable grief—that even she doesn’t completely appear to understand—has refashioned the whole town into her version of a perfect home: the sleepy, safe and serene suburb of popular American television. And since we know that Vision died in “Avengers: Infinity War,” we also know that Wanda somehow managed to recreate him. But how?

Wanda is a woman filled with paradox. Her creations show the immense power of her imagination and are rooted in a desire to set the world right—even if it is in her own image. After a series of soul-crushing losses, she needed to recover goodness. The last moment she remembers of a grief-free existence was watching “The Dick Van Dyke Show” with her family just before their home was bombed. The warmth of Mary Tyler Moore’s smile became her standard of happiness.

“What is grief if not love persevering?” the original Vision suggests to Wanda in a memory.

“What is grief if not love persevering?” the original Vision suggests to Wanda in a memory, as he tries to console her following the death of her brother. And so, in her newly created world, that persevering love is personified (almost immortalized) by Vision himself. This conditional Vision, as he later refers to himself, embodies what is most true about their relationship and gives Wanda the strength to let go, even of him.

Eventually, it is this Vision that is fashioned from Wanda’s memory, who calls her to accept the truth. But only after a whole town of people is forced, involuntarily, to experience extreme mental anguish in pursuit of Wanda’s objective to create the life she never had. The townspeople’s lives are disrupted, sharing Wanda’s nightmares, experiencing in their sleep the very terrors that plague her. They are stuck in her creation, suppressed “flesh puppets,” as one character describes them. The warmth of their smiles and the innocence of their comedic antics hide a crippling truth from Wanda: that her attempt to escape trauma is traumatizing others.

“WandaVision,” with its sophisticated storytelling, using television genres as a literary device, pushes classic sitcom tropes in unexpected ways. Sitcoms represent Wanda’s desire for a home with a family who love her, a place where her identity can be rooted. The genre becomes a device for revealing the complexities of the central character’s psyche. But it becomes evermore apparent—with every new, simple problem solved in 30 minutes and every endearing moment of slapstick comedy—that Wanda is lost.

Wanda is a woman filled with paradox. Her creations show the immense power of her imagination and are rooted in a desire to set the world right—even if it is in her own image.

The series premiere begins in media res, teasing us with a few horror film-like clues. The boss’s wife looks directly into the camera repeatedly telling someone to “Stop it!” But to whom is her command directed: her husband, who is choking on a piece of food, or Wanda? The episode ends abruptly and on a mild cliffhanger. Wanda and Vision don’t understand what’s going on and neither do we. Though somewhat discombobulating, the technique works largely because Marvel producers have loyalty and goodwill from their audiences over the years. “WandaVision” thrives on provoking delayed gratification and a willingness from its audience to accept subtleties. Please Stand By.

“WandaVision” is thoroughly feminist. The series creator and showrunner is a woman, along with half the writing team. Most of the central characters are also women.

Though strong emotional responses to loss are universally human, one of feminism’s important projects is to recover emotion, not only as instinctual, and almost always subordinate to a dispassionate reason, but as vital to one’s self-understanding. Emotion is a primary way of knowing in “WandaVision.”

Captain Monica Rambeau attempts multiple times to reenter the “Hex,” the magical bubble in which Wanda can assert full control over reality, in order to try to reach her and help her come to grips with what she has done. Another female character—revealing her name would be an instant spoiler—drives Wanda to examine her past trauma. “The only way forward,” she tells Wanda, “is back.”

Though strong emotional responses to loss are universally human, one of feminism’s important projects is to recover emotion, not only as instinctual but as vital to one’s self-understanding.

Rambeau and the other woman understand that the most effective way to reach Wanda is to help her understand herself. Even Wanda’s antagonist becomes her therapist and interlocutor. “How did we get here, Wanda?” she asks. The women of this series are autonomous, complex characters whose choices matter. Women who employ reason and emotion. They know that emotions are key to understanding what we really think about ourselves and about others at the deepest levels and that there is no way around trauma, only through it. Vision, though not a woman, is the ideal partner and a perfect feminist ally. He doesn’t stand in the way of Wanda’s growth and is the most empathetic of all. He is thoughtful, trusting and unthreatened by Wanda’s lead. In the final battle, it is he who stays back to protect the children. The future of their world and home is left in Wanda’s hands.

And so ultimately, Wanda fashions a world of pathos not logos. Instead of logic and reason, usually associated with the Greek concept of logos , Wanda creates, from the bottomless pit of her grief and loss. She lost her parents at age 10, later her brother, and even after finding love and a life again with Vision, he too is taken away. Twice.

Whereas Tyler Hayward, the S.W.O.R.D. director who stands outside of Wanda’s Hex seeks to cope with the overwhelming knowledge that the Earth is under constant threat by building new weapons, Wanda is busy refashioning Westview into a place of apparent safety and peace. Her pathos, her life experience and her suffering give way to a curated domestic paradise where “shenanigans and mischief,” only lead to wholesome life-lessons. No one really gets hurt, as Wanda says, “It's not that kind of show.”

Powerful as Wanda is, her imagination is still stunted. She has yet to do the work of real hope

But as powerful as Wanda is, her imagination is still stunted. She has yet to do the work of real hope, which requires her to imagine a flourishing world beyond her perfect imagination—after trauma, not devoid of it. The only way forward is to face death squarely, embracing what might lie before her when she lets go of her previous expectations. And who she might be without Vision, present to her in the flesh.

We all need the essential faculty of the imagination. It allows us to make sense of the sometimes jagged, disparate shards of life after loss, imagining something altogether new. Because Wanda’s power is mythic, her story can help us sharpen our own tools for making sense of the senseless. She, like us, must embrace grief, sit in it, waiting in that liminal space between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. The mourning of Easter Saturday cannot be skipped. Perhaps Wanda Maximoff is like the deserted city of the book of Lamentations:

How lonely sits the city that once was full of people! How like a widow she has become, she that was great among the nations! Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord!

More from America: 

• We’re all desperate for hope. Ted Lasso is here to deliver it. 
• Netflix’s ‘Bridgerton’  is a feminist disaster. But it (almost) redeems itself.
• Golden Globe winner  ‘Nomadland’  is a portrait of late-stage capitalism in America
• HBO’s  ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’  is a Christ-like tale of betrayal — minus the redemption

Eric T. Styles is rector of Carroll Hall, an undergraduate residential community at the University of Notre Dame. He writes on theology, liturgy, culture and the performing arts. Since 2013 he has also been a collaborator with  Afro House , a music-driven performance art ensemble based in Baltimore.

Most popular

Your source for jobs, books, retreats, and much more.

The latest from america

Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki

The recent release of the book "Marvel Studios' The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline" requires a lot of analysis. Members of WikiProject:Timeline team are working on editing pages in response to the information revealed in the book. If you wish to contribute, please do not immediately edit these pages, and instead visit the Timeline Discussion.

• The Multiverse Saga TV Series
• Phase Four TV Series
• Português do Brasil

WandaVision

• View history

WandaVision is an American web television miniseries, based on the Marvel Comics superheroes Scarlet Witch and Vision . The series is a sequel to Avengers: Endgame . It is the thirteenth television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe , and the first installment of Phase Four and The Multiverse Saga . The series was produced by Marvel Studios and was released on Disney+ .

The first and only season premiered on January 15, 2021, and concluded on March 5, 2021.

• 1.1 Season One
• 2.1 Starring Cast
• 2.2 Recurring Cast
• 4 Production
• 5.1 Teasers
• 5.2 Trailers
• 5.3 TV Spots
• 5.5 Featurettes
• 5.6 Deleted Scenes
• 6 References
• 7 External Links

Synopsis [ ]

Season one [ ].

Marvel Studios ' WandaVision blends the style of classic sitcoms with the Marvel Cinematic Universe in which Wanda Maximoff and Vision – two super-powered beings living their ideal suburban life – begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems. [1]

Starring Cast [ ]

• Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch
• Paul Bettany as "Vision" / Vision / White Vision
• Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau/"Geraldine"
• Evan Peters as Ralph Bohner/"Pietro Maximoff"
• Randall Park as Jimmy Woo
• Debra Jo Rupp as Sharon Davis/"Mrs. Hart"
• Fred Melamed as Todd Davis/"Arthur Hart"
• Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis
• Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness/"Agnes"

Recurring Cast [ ]

• Asif Ali as Abilash Tandon/"Norm"
• David Lengel as Harold Proctor/"Phil Jones"
• Amos Glick as "Dennis"
• Emma Caulfield Ford as Sarah Proctor/"Dottie Jones"
• Jolene Purdy as Isabel Matsueda/"Beverly"
• David Payton as John Collins/"Herb"
• Josh Stamberg as Director Tyler Hayward
• Selena Anduze as Agent Rodriguez
• Alan Heckner as Agent Monti
• Julian Hilliard as Billy Maximoff
• Jett Klyne as Tommy Maximoff
• Ithamar Enriquez as Commercial Man
• Victoria Blade as Commercial Woman

Posters [ ]

Production [ ]

In 2009, Marvel assembled a group of screenwriters to write film scripts for lesser-known characters, which included Vision . [2]

During the press junket for Avengers: Infinity War , Bob Iger approached Kevin Feige about doing television series for Disney+ , Disney's then upcoming streaming service. Feige then had conversations with Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany because he felt that Scarlet Witch and Vision had many more stories to tell, as the films had only scratched the surface of their relationship. [3]

On September 18, 2018, Variety reported that Marvel Studios was developing a limited television series for Scarlet Witch on Disney+, with Elizabeth Olsen set to reprise her role for the series, with Kevin Feige confirmed to serve as an executive producer. [4]

On October 30, 2018, /Film reported that Paul Bettany was expected to reprise his role as Vision and play a large role in the Scarlet Witch series, which would focus on the relationship between Vision and Scarlet Witch. [5]

On November 30, 2018, Deadline reported that the series was set to premiere in 2019 and that it would be titled Vision and the Scarlet Witch , although the title was later removed from the article. [6]

On January 9, 2019, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Jac Schaeffer would serve as the showrunner and an executive producer of the series and would write the pilot episode. It was also reported that the series would be titled The Vision and Scarlet Witch . [7]

On April 11, 2019, during Disney's 2019 Investor Day, it was revealed that the series would be titled WandaVision and that it would premiere during the second year of Disney+. [8] [9]

During the premiere event for Avengers: Endgame , Elizabeth Olsen revealed that the series would start production in the Fall of 2019 and that it would be six-hours long. [10]

On July 20, 2019, at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, Kevin Feige announced that the series was scheduled to debut on Disney+ in the Spring of 2021. It was also announced that Teyonah Parris would appear in the series as Monica Rambeau . [11]

On August 23, 2019, at D23 Expo 2019, Kevin Feige announced that Kat Dennings and Randall Park were set to reprise their roles as Darcy Lewis and Jimmy Woo , respectively, in the series and that Kathryn Hahn had joined the cast of the series in an undisclosed role. It was also revealed that Matt Shakman would direct all six episodes. [12]

In September 2019, it was reported that the series would start production on November 4 in Atlanta . [13]

On December 18, 2019, Christophe Beck revealed that he would compose the series' score. [14]

On January 1, 2020, Disney+ posted a video on Twitter advertising what is coming to the service in 2020, revealing that the series would debut in 2020 instead of 2021. [15]

On February 4, 2020, Bob Iger announced that the series would debut in December 2020. [16]

On March 1, 2020, it was reported that the series had wrapped principal photography. [17]

On March 14, 2020, Marvel Studios paused production on the series, along with The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and Loki , as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic . [18]

On June 4, 2020, it was reported that the series would begin additional photography in July in Los Angeles . [19]

On September 16, 2020, Disney+ posted a video on Twitter advertising some of the titles that were coming to the service in the remainder of 2020, revealing that the series was still scheduled to premiere in 2020. [20]

On November 12, 2020, it was announced that the series would premiere on January 15, 2021. [21]

On January 4, 2021, it was reported that the series' first season would consist of nine episodes. [22] That same day, it was announced that the series would feature original theme songs written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez . [23]

On May 3, 2021, Kevin Feige revealed that there were plans for Doctor Strange to appear in The Series Finale . However, those plans were eventually scrapped. [24]

On October 7, 2021, Variety reported that a spin-off centered on Agatha Harkness was in development with Jac Schaeffer attached to write and executive produce. [25]

On October 28, 2022, Deadline reported that a spin-off series focusing on White Vision was in pre-production at Marvel Studios . The series would exist in addition to the previously announced spin-off Agatha . [26]

Teasers [ ]

Trailers [ ]

TV Spots [ ]

Featurettes [ ]

Deleted Scenes [ ]

References [ ]

• ↑ Marvel Debuts First Footage From ‘WandaVision’, ‘Falcon and the Winter Soldier’, and ‘Loki’
• ↑ Marvel's hiring writers
• ↑ WandaVision Began Development Just Before Avengers: Infinity War's Release
• ↑ Loki, Scarlet Witch, Other Marvel Heroes to Get Own TV Series on Disney Streaming Service (EXCLUSIVE)
• ↑ Falcon/Winter Soldier TV Series Planned for Disney Streaming Service, Scarlet Witch Show May Co-Star Vision
• ↑ Spider-Women, Captain Marvel & Harley Quinn: Females Fly In The Face Of Old Hollywood Perceptions
• ↑ Marvel's 'Vision and Scarlet Witch' Series Lands 'Captain Marvel' Writer (Exclusive)
• ↑ Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany Star as Wanda Maximoff and The Vision in New Disney+ Series, WandaVision
• ↑ Your Complete Guide to Disney+ Entertainment
• ↑ Disney+ Marvel Series WandaVision Start Date and Length Revealed by Elizabeth Olsen
• ↑ SDCC 2019: All of the Marvel Studios News Coming Out of Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con
• ↑ Disney+: A Comprehensive Guide to All Its Programming (So Far)
• ↑ 'WandaVision' To Begin Filming in November
• ↑ SESAC Origins: Christophe Beck Talks Frozen 2, The Beck Diversity Project and More
• ↑ Disney+ on Twitter - January 1, 2020
• ↑ Disney+ Amasses Nearly 29 Million Paid Subscribers Since Launch
• ↑ WandaVision Celebrates End of Filming With Wrap Party
• ↑ Marvel’s Disney Plus Shows Pause Production Due to Coronavirus
• ↑ WandaVision Reportedly Set to Resume Filming in July
• ↑ Disney+ on Twitter - September 16, 2020
• ↑ Marvel Studios' 'WandaVision' to Premiere on Disney+ on January 15
• ↑ First season of Marvel’s WandaVision expanded to 9 episodes on Disney+
• ↑ Wanda and Vision Find Their Song in Latest ‘WandaVision’ Spot
• ↑ How Benedict Cumberbatch’s Dr. Strange Almost Appeared in ‘WandaVision’
• ↑ ‘WandaVision’ Spinoff Starring Kathryn Hahn in the Works at Disney Plus (EXCLUSIVE)
• ↑ Vision Series Starring Paul Bettany In Works At Marvel Studios For Disney+

External Links [ ]

• 1 Deadpool & Wolverine
• 3 Phase Five

• Cast & crew

Wanda's Visit

A letter from a school friend leads to chaos (from the play by Christopher Durang) A letter from a school friend leads to chaos (from the play by Christopher Durang) A letter from a school friend leads to chaos (from the play by Christopher Durang)

• Christopher Durang
• Robert De Fries
• Malcolm Houston
• Einat Marom
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

User reviews

• February 26, 2006 (Australia)
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• A$500 (estimated)

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 7 minutes

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• IMDb Answers: Help fill gaps in our data
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed

Advertisement

Supported by

Parents of Michigan School Shooter Sentenced to 10 to 15 Years in Prison

Jennifer and James Crumbley, whose son killed four people, each faced up to 15 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter convictions.

• Share full article

By Jacey Fortin and Anna Betts

Jennifer and James Crumbley, who were convicted of involuntary manslaughter for failing to prevent their teenage son from killing four fellow students in the deadliest school shooting in Michigan’s history, were each sentenced on Tuesday to 10 to 15 years in prison.

Their separate jury trials ended in guilty verdicts in February and March , making them the first parents in the country to be convicted over the deaths caused by their child in a mass shooting.

Involuntary manslaughter charges carry a penalty in Michigan of up to 15 years in prison, and prosecutors asked in sentencing memos filed to the court last week that the Crumbleys each serve at least 10 years. Both have been in jail for more than two years while awaiting trial and will receive credit for time served.

“Parents are not expected to be psychic,” Judge Cheryl Matthews of the Oakland County Circuit Court in Pontiac, Mich., said before issuing the sentence. “But these convictions are not about poor parenting. These convictions confirm repeated acts or lack of acts that could have halted an oncoming runaway train — repeatedly ignoring things that would make a reasonable person feel the hair on the back of her neck stand up.”

Before the hearing, prosecutors said that Ms. Crumbley, 46, was asking to be sentenced to house arrest on her defense lawyer’s property, rather than serving prison time. And Mr. Crumbley, 47, said that he had been wrongly convicted and his sentence should amount to the time he had already served in prison, adding that he felt “absolutely horrible” about what had happened.

On Tuesday, each of them spoke in the hearing before the judge pronounced sentence.

“I stand today not to ask for your forgiveness, as I know it may be beyond reach, but to express my sincerest apologies for the pain that has been caused,” Ms. Crumbley said in court, addressing the relatives of students who were killed.

Mr. Crumbley also apologized. “I cannot express how much I wish that I had known what was going on with him or what was going to happen, because I absolutely would have done a lot of things differently,” he said.

Relatives of some of the victims also spoke during the hearing, describing the overwhelming effects the shooting had on their lives.

“The ripple effects of both James’s and Jennifer’s failures to act have devastated us all,” said Jill Soave, the mother of Justin Shilling, 17, who was killed in the shooting at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021. “This tragedy was completely preventable. If only they had done something, your honor, anything, to shift the course events on Nov. 30, then our four angels would be here today.”

Steve St. Juliana, whose daughter, Hana, 14, was killed, said that the Crumbleys continued to fail to take responsibility for what had happened.

“They chose to stay quiet,” he said. “They chose to ignore the warning signs. And now, as we’ve heard through all of the objections, they continue to choose to blame everyone but themselves.”

The Crumbleys’ son, Ethan, was 15 when he carried out the shooting that killed Justin and Hana, as well as Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Tate Myre, 16. Seven others were injured. Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty to 24 charges, including first-degree murder, and was sentenced last year to life in prison without parole . He is still eligible to appeal that decision. His parents may appeal, too.

In the trials of both parents, prosecutors focused in part on their failure to remove their son from school after he made a violent drawing on the morning of the shooting. It included a written plea for help.

They also emphasized Ethan’s access to a handgun that Mr. Crumbley had purchased. And they said that Ms. Crumbley had missed signs that her son was struggling with his mental health, adding that she took him to a gun range just days before the shooting.

Defense lawyers for both parents said they could not have foreseen the unspeakable violence their son would commit.

Ms. Crumbley grew up in Clarkston, a Detroit suburb about 20 minutes from Oxford, her lawyer said during a hearing after the couple’s arrest in 2021 . Before her arrest, she had worked as a marketing director, her lawyer said.

Mr. Crumbley’s job history included work at a handful of small software and technology companies.

The couple once lived in Florida but returned to Michigan several years ago, their lawyers said. They bought their home near downtown Oxford in 2015.

The trials of Jennifer and James Crumbley became a lightning rod for issues of parental responsibility at a time of high-profile gun violence by minors. In recent months, parents in other states have pleaded guilty to charges of reckless conduct or neglect after their children injured or killed others with guns.

But the manslaughter charges against the Crumbleys were unique, and legal experts said their trials could serve as a playbook for other prosecutors who seek to hold parents accountable in the future.

Ekow Yankah, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, said the effect of the ruling on Tuesday might be felt beyond the state.

“This is going to be precedent, most obviously in Michigan and its home jurisdiction, but prosecutors all over the country will see this as a new and viable form of liability,” Mr. Yankah said. “I think we should not underestimate the precedential power of this case, even as we recognize that the facts were quite extraordinary.”

For Matthew Schneider, a former United States attorney in Michigan, what makes this case so different from many others is that most criminal sentences are related to the actions of a defendant, rather than being “about inactions, and how the inactions of a person result in a criminal sentence.”

The sentencing is “very much about making an example of the defendants,” Mr. Schneider said. “This is a shot across the bow to all parents, to all people who have firearms in their house, to keep them locked up, if they could be in the hands of the wrong people.”

Jacey Fortin covers a wide range of subjects for the National desk of The Times, including extreme weather, court cases and state politics all across the country. More about Jacey Fortin

Anna Betts reports on national events, including politics, education, and natural or man-made disasters, among other things. More about Anna Betts

• a. Send us an email
• b. Anonymous form
• Buyer's Guide
• Upcoming Products
• Tips / Contact Us
• Podcast Instagram Facebook Twitter Mastodon YouTube Notifications RSS Newsletter

When to Expect the Next MacBook Pro to Launch

If you are considering buying a MacBook Pro , you may be wondering when new models will be released so that you can time your purchase accordingly. Below, we outline when to expect the next 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models to launch.

MacBook Pro: Summary

• When were the current models released? October 2023
• When are the next models expected? Late 2024 to early 2025

MacBook Pro: What to Know

Apple last updated the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chip options in October 2023 . At the time, it discontinued the 13-inch MacBook Pro , the final Mac that was available with a Touch Bar.

Next-generation 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips will be among the new Macs that Apple releases "beginning late this year and extending into early next year," according to Bloomberg 's Mark Gurman . Based on this timeframe, new MacBook Pro models could be anywhere from six to twelve months away from launching.

More significant upgrades like an OLED display , a touch screen , and built-in cellular connectivity are not expected to be added to the MacBook Pro until 2025 or beyond.

MacRumors Buyer's Guide

Check out our MacRumors Buyer's Guide to keep track of when Macs and other Apple products were released, and when they are likely to be updated next.

Get weekly top MacRumors stories in your inbox.

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Plus Rumored to Come in These 7 Colors

When to Expect a New Apple TV to Launch

Macs to Get AI-Focused M4 Chips Starting in Late 2024

iOS 18 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Review: Six Months With the iPhone 15 Pro

Next article.

Our comprehensive guide highlighting every major new addition in iOS 17, plus how-tos that walk you through using the new features.

App Store changes for the EU, new emoji, Podcasts transcripts, and more.

Get the most out your iPhone 15 with our complete guide to all the new features.

A deep dive into new features in macOS Sonoma, big and small.

Revamped models with OLED displays, M3 chip, and redesigned Magic Keyboard accessory.

Updated 10.9-inch model and new 12.9-inch model, M2 chip expected.

Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference will kick off with a keynote on June 10.

Expected to see new AI-focused features and more. Preview coming at WWDC in June with public release in September.

Other Stories

1 day ago by MacRumors Staff

1 day ago by Joe Rossignol

1 day ago by Tim Hardwick

2 days ago by MacRumors Staff

2 days ago by Tim Hardwick

O.J. Simpson, NFL star whose murder trial gripped the nation, dies of cancer at 76

O.J. Simpson , the former NFL star who was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend in a televised trial that gripped the nation, has died of cancer, according to his family.

"He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren," the family said in a statement posted on X . "During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace."

Reports circulated in February that Simpson had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and was in hospice care as he underwent chemotherapy. He denied that he was in hospice in a video posted on X, but did not address whether he'd been diagnosed with cancer.

“Hospice? Hospice? You talking ‘bout hospice?” he said in the video with a laugh, adding that he doesn’t know who started the rumors. 

Orenthal James Simpson played 11 seasons in the National Football League and was known as "The Juice" to his fans, but his sports legacy was tarnished forever in the 1990s after his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman were killed.

Brown Simpson, 35, and Goldman, 25, were found stabbed to death outside her Los Angeles home in 1994.

On June 13, 1994, Goldman was returning sunglasses that the mother of Brown Simpson had left at a restaurant where he worked. The two were stabbed and slashed dozens of times, and their bodies were found the next day.

When Los Angeles police officers went to Simpson's home to speak to him about the slayings, Simpson did not answer the door but officers noticed a trail of blood leading to his car, as well as blood on his car.

Once a revered athlete, Simpson went from a Hall of Fame icon to a murder suspect.

Days later, officials charged Simpson with the murders and he attempted to evade arrest, resulting in an infamous hourslong police chase along Southern California's highways in his white Ford Bronco .

Simpson's case went to trial in 1995 and was broadcast to millions of viewers across the nation. The court case was dubbed the "trial of the century" as it dragged on for months and transformed into a public spectacle.

Feelings over the trial have remained mixed over the years, with many accusing the Los Angeles Police Department of racism in its handling of the case. Others believe that Simpson's ability to retain high-powered attorneys allowed him to get away with murder.

The trial made prosecutors Christopher Darden and Marcia Clark household names, in addition to Simpson's defense attorneys Johnnie Cochran, Alan Dershowitz and Robert Kardashian.

He was acquitted of both murders in a controversial verdict. Two years later, he was found civilly liable for wrongful death in the double homicide case.

Despite his acquittal in the criminal trial, many still believed Simpson was guilty, a belief bolstered by a jury ordering him to pay $33 million to Goldman's family in the civil case — damages that were never paid in full.

Goldman's father, Fred Goldman, spoke to NBC News by phone Thursday and described Simpson's death as "no great loss."

“The only thing I have to say is it’s just further reminder of Ron being gone all these years," he said. "It’s no great loss to the world. It’s a further reminder of Ron’s being gone.”

Bob Costas, the sports broadcaster who worked with Simpson for years at NBC Sports covering the NFL, said Simpson leaves behind “a complicated legacy, to put it mildly.”

“I can’t think of anyone historical or someone that we may have known where the first chapter and the second chapter of their lives are such a stark contrast … revered and then reviled,” Costas said on NBC’s “TODAY” show Friday.

In 2007, Simpson led an armed robbery attempt of a sports memorabilia dealer in Las Vegas. He argued in court that he was recovering his own stolen items, but his defense failed to sway the jury.

He was convicted and sentenced to 33 years in prison, of which he served only nine before he was released on parole .

Simpson spoke to The Associated Press by phone in 2019 , telling them that he was healthy and happy living in Las Vegas. He maintained that he believed his robbery conviction was unfair, but said: “I believe in the legal system and I honored it. I served my time.”

The Simpson murder trial was re-enacted and relitigated decades later in FX’s “The People v. O.J. Simpson,” an installment of the network’s popular “American Crime Story” series in 2016. Released that same year was the Academy Award-winning documentary "O.J.: Made in America," detailing Simpson's rise and fall.

Simpson was born in San Francisco and raised in public housing, going to a local community college before transferring to the University of Southern California. He was part of the school's national championship in 1967 and earned the Heisman Trophy the next year.

He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1969 as a No. 1 overall pick.

According to NBC Sports , Simpson was the first player in the league to rush for 2,000 or more yards in a season and is considered the best running back of his era.

Simpson had three children from his first marriage to Marguerite Whitley, one of whom died in a drowning accident as a toddler.

He also shared two children with Brown Simpson.

Following her murder and his acquittal, Simpson won custody of their shared children and moved to Miami with them. His custody fight with his former-in-laws also drew headlines as the children's grandparents took him to court in a bitter legal battle.

Doha Madani is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News. Pronouns: she/her.