title: Renée Zellweger

text: Her next role was that of Judy Garland in 2019's biographical drama "Judy". Based on the West End and Broadway play "End of the Rainbow", the film chronicles the last years of Garland's life, shortly before her death in 1969. Zellweger performed her own vocals in the film and her songs had to be performed in front of a live audience. "Judy" premiered to positive reviews at the Telluride Film Festival, and certain critics considered it to be the finest performance of her career. Zoe Gahan of "Vanity Fair" found her "witty, sharp and devastating in the title role" and added that "it is hard to tell where Garland stops and Zellweger starts". Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" opined, "Zellweger performs miracles playing Judy Garland: singing her heart out, baring her bruised soul and acting with a ferocity that ultimately rises to a state of grace." For her portrayal of Garland, Zellweger won numerous awards and accolades, including the Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, BAFTA Award and Academy Award. Zellweger's win made her just the seventh actress to win an Oscar in both acting categories and the fourth to win Best Actress after Best Supporting Actress. The film's soundtrack additionally earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.


title: Renée Zellweger

text: Two and a half years later, in 2022, Zellweger took on her first starring role in network television in the NBC crime drama miniseries "The Thing About Pam". She starred as Pam Hupp, who was involved in the 2011 murder of Betsy Faria. The part required her to wear face and body prosthetics, which took 80 minutes to apply. The series and her performance received mixed reviews from critics. "IndieWire"s Ben Travers called her performance "exaggerated", while John Doyle of "The Globe and Mail" said that she "brings an equal amount of vinegary exuberance to the work."


title: Renée Zellweger

text: Zellweger has appeared on the covers and photo shoots of several magazines throughout her career; she appeared on the September 1997 cover of "Vanity Fair", and in subsequent years, the list has grown to include "Vogue", "Detour", "Allure" and "Harper's Bazaar". Zellweger often draws attention for her style at award ceremonies and red carpet events, specifically for her frequent use of dresses designed by Carolina Herrera, a close friend who has worked with the actress for over fifteen years after they met at a Costume Institute gala. She is also a frequent attendee at New York Fashion Week, among other fashion events.


title: Renée Zellweger

text: In April 1997, "Vanity Fair" named her part of "Hollywood's Next Wave of Stars". She was placed on E!'s "Top 20 Entertainers of 2001" list and was chosen by "People" magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world in 2003. She also ranked number 72 in the "Top 100 Celebrities" list made by "Forbes" in 2006, and the following year, she was placed at 20 among "the 20 richest women in entertainment", by the magazine.


title: Renée Zellweger

text: After Zellweger attended the 21st annual "Elle" Women in Hollywood Awards in October 2014, there was media and social commentary that she was hardly recognizable, which prompted speculation that she had undergone cosmetic surgery. Zellweger responded, "Perhaps I look different. Who doesn't as they get older?! Ha. But I am different. I'm happy."


title: Renée Zellweger

text: From 1999 to 2000, Zellweger was engaged to Jim Carrey. In 2003, she had a brief relationship with musician Jack White. In May 2005, Zellweger married singer Kenny Chesney. Four months later, Zellweger obtained an annulment.


title: Renée Zellweger

text: In 2009, she started dating Bradley Cooper, after having met on the set of "Case 39" which was filmed in 2006. They separated in 2011.


title: Renée Zellweger

text: From 2012 to 2019, she was in a relationship with musician Doyle Bramhall II. In June 2021, she was reported to be dating English television presenter Ant Anstead.


title: Renée Zellweger

text: Zellweger is one of the patrons for gender equality foundation The GREAT Initiative; in 2011 she visited Liberia with the charity. In April 2011, she collaborated with Tommy Hilfiger to design a handbag to raise money and awareness for the Breast Health Institute. "Because of the experiences of close friends and family members who have had to endure and battle the challenges of breast cancer, I am a passionate supporter of breast health education and charitable causes", Zellweger stated about joining the campaign.


title: Renée Zellweger

text: Among her numerous accolades for her acting work, Zellweger has received two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, four Critics' Choice Movie Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, a Independent Spirit Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, a British Independent Film Awards, and awards from the London Film Critics Circle, National Board of Review, National Society of Film Critics, New York Film Critics Circle, and Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Zellweger is only the fourth actress, after Meryl Streep, Jessica Lange, and Cate Blanchett, to win Best Actress after winning Best Supporting Actress and the seventh actress to win in both categories after Ingrid Bergman, Maggie Smith, Helen Hayes, Streep, Lange, and Blanchett.


title: South Park

text: South Park is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand their exploits in and around the titular Colorado town. "South Park" became infamous for its profanity and dark, surreal humor that satirizes a wide range of topics toward an adult audience.


title: South Park

text: Parker and Stone developed "South Park" from two animated short films both titled "The Spirit of Christmas". The second short became one of the first Internet viral videos, leading to "South Park"s production. The pilot episode was produced using cutout animation; subsequent episodes have since used computer animation recalling the cutout technique. "South Park" features a large ensemble cast of recurring characters.


title: South Park

text: Since its debut on August 13, 1997, episodes (including television films) of "South Park" have been broadcast. It debuted with great success, consistently earning the highest ratings of any basic cable program. Subsequent ratings have varied, but it remains one of Comedy Central's highest-rated programs. In August 2021, the series was renewed through 2027, and a series of films was announced for the streaming service Paramount+, the first two of which were released later that year.


title: South Park

text: "South Park" has received critical acclaim, and is included in various publications' lists of greatest television shows. It has received numerous accolades, including five Primetime Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award. A theatrical film, "", was released in June 1999 to commercial and critical success, garnering an Academy Award nomination. In 2013, "TV Guide" ranked "South Park" the tenth Greatest TV Cartoon of All Time.


title: South Park

text: "South Park" centers around four boys: Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman and Kenny McCormick. The boys live in the fictional small town of South Park, located within the real-life South Park basin in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado, approximately a one-hour drive from Denver. The town is also home to an assortment of other characters, including students, families, elementary school staff, and other various residents. Prominent settings include South Park Elementary, various neighborhoods and the surrounding mountain range, actual Colorado landmarks, and the businesses along the town's main street, all of which are based on the appearance of similar locations in Fairplay, Colorado. As one of the few television programs set in the Mountain West region that takes place outside the urban core of Denver, "South Park" frequently features the unique culture of the region, including cattle ranchers, Old West theme parks, snowy climates, mountaineering, Mormons, real-life Colorado locations such as Casa Bonita and Cave of the Winds, and many other regionally specific characteristics.


title: South Park

text: Stan is portrayed as the everyman of the group, described in official media as an "average, American 4th grader." Kyle is Jewish, and his portrayal as one of the few such people in South Park is often dealt with satirically. Stan is modeled after Parker, while Kyle is modeled after Stone. They are best friends, and their friendship, symbolically intended to reflect Parker and Stone's friendship, is a common topic throughout the series. Cartman (as he is commonly referred to) is amoral and increasingly psychopathic, and is commonly portrayed as an antagonist. His staunch antisemitism has resulted in a progressive rivalry with Kyle. Kenny, who comes from a poor family, tightly wears his parka hood to the point where it obscures most of his face and muffles his speech. During the first five seasons, Kenny died in almost every episode before reappearing in the next with no definite explanation. He was killed off in the fifth season episode "Kenny Dies", being reintroduced in the sixth season finale. Since then, Kenny is depicted as dying sporadically. During the first 58 episodes, the children were in the third grade. During the fourth season, they entered the fourth grade, where they have remained ever since.


title: South Park

text: Plots are often set in motion by events, ranging from the fairly typical to the supernatural and extraordinary, which frequently happen in the town. The boys often act as the voice of reason when these events cause panic or incongruous behavior among the adult populace, who are customarily depicted as irrational, gullible, and prone to overreaction. They are frequently confused by the contradictory and hypocritical behavior of their parents and other adults, and often perceive them as having distorted views on morality and society.


title: South Park

text: Each episode opens with a tongue-in-cheek all persons fictitious disclaimer: "All characters and events in this show—even those based on real people—are entirely fictional. All celebrity voices are impersonated...poorly. The following program contains coarse language and due to its content it should not be viewed by anyone."


title: South Park

text: "South Park" was the first weekly program to be rated TV-MA, and is generally intended for adult audiences. The boys and most other child characters use strong profanity, with only the most taboo words being bleeped during a typical broadcast. Parker and Stone perceive this as the manner in which real-life small boys speak when they are alone.


title: South Park

text: "South Park" commonly makes use of carnivalesque and absurdist techniques, numerous running gags, violence, sexual content, offhand pop-cultural references, and satirical portrayal of celebrities.


title: South Park

text: Early episodes tended to be shock value-oriented and featured more slapstick-style humor. While social satire had been used on the show occasionally earlier on, it became more prevalent as the series progressed, with the show retaining some of its focus on the boys' fondness of scatological humor in an attempt to remind adult viewers "what it was like to be eight years old." Parker and Stone also began further developing other characters by giving them larger roles in certain storylines, and began writing plots as parables based on religion, politics, and numerous other topics. This provided the opportunity for the show to spoof both extreme sides of contentious issues, while lampooning both liberal and conservative points of view. Parker and Stone describe themselves as "equal opportunity offenders", whose main purpose is to "be funny" and "make people laugh", while stating that no particular topic or group of people be exempt from mockery and satire.


title: South Park

text: Parker and Stone insist that the show is still more about "kids being kids" and "what it's like to be in [elementary school] in America", stating that the introduction of a more satirical element to the series was the result of the two adding more of a "moral center" to the show so that it would rely less on simply being crude and shocking in an attempt to maintain an audience. While profane, Parker notes that there is still an "underlying sweetness" aspect to the child characters, and "Time" described the boys as "sometimes cruel but with a core of innocence." Usually, the boys or other characters pondered over what transpired during an episode and conveyed the important lesson taken from it with a short monologue. During earlier seasons, this speech commonly began with a variation of the phrase "You know, I've learned something today...".


title: South Park

text: Parker and Stone met in film class at the University of Colorado in 1992 and discovered a shared love of Monty Python, which they often cite as one of their primary inspirations. They created an animated short entitled "The Spirit of Christmas". The film was created by animating construction paper cutouts with stop motion, and features prototypes of the main characters of "South Park", including a character resembling Cartman but named "Kenny", an unnamed character resembling what is today Kenny, and two near-identical unnamed characters who resemble Stan and Kyle. Fox Broadcasting Company executive and mutual friend Brian Graden commissioned Parker and Stone to create a second short film as a video Christmas card. Created in 1995, the second "The Spirit of Christmas" short resembled the style of the later series more closely. To differentiate between the two homonymous shorts, the first short is often referred to as "Jesus vs. Frosty", and the second short as "Jesus vs. Santa". Graden sent copies of the video to several of his friends, and from there it was copied and distributed, including on the internet, where it became one of the first viral videos.


title: South Park

text: As "Jesus vs. Santa" became more popular, Parker and Stone began talks of developing the short into a television series about four children residing in the fictional Colorado town of South Park. Fox eagerly agreed to meet with the duo about the show's premise, having prided itself on edgier products such as "Cops", "The Simpsons", and "The X-Files". However, during the meeting at the Fox office in Century City, disagreements between the two creators and the network began to arise, mainly over the latter's refusal to air a show that included a supporting talking stool character named Mr. Hankey. Some executives at 20th Century Fox Television (which was to produce the series) agreed with its then-sister network's stance on Mr. Hankey and repeatedly requested Parker and Stone to remove the character in order for the show to proceed. Refusing to meet their demands, the duo cut ties with Fox and its sister companies all together and began shopping the series somewhere else.


title: South Park

text: The two then entered negotiations with both MTV and Comedy Central. Parker preferred the show be produced by Comedy Central, fearing that MTV would turn it into a kids show. When Comedy Central executive Doug Herzog watched the short, he commissioned for it to be developed into a series. Parker and Stone assembled a small staff and spent three months creating the pilot episode "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe". "South Park" was in danger of being canceled before it even aired when the show fared poorly with test audiences, particularly with women. However, the shorts were still gaining more popularity over the Internet, and Comedy Central ordered a run of six episodes. "South Park" debuted with "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" on August 13, 1997.


title: South Park

text: Except for the pilot episode, which was produced using cutout animation, all episodes of "South Park" are created with the use of software, primarily Autodesk Maya. As opposed to the pilot, which took three months to complete, and other animated sitcoms, which are traditionally hand-drawn by companies in South Korea in a process that takes roughly eight to nine months, individual episodes of "South Park" take significantly less time to produce. Using computers as an animation method, the show's production staff were able to generate an episode in about three weeks during the first seasons. Now, with a staff of about 70 people, episodes are typically completed in one week, with some in as little as three to four days. Nearly the entire production of an episode is accomplished within one set of offices, which were originally at a complex in Westwood, Los Angeles, California and are now part of South Park Studios in Culver City, California. Parker and Stone have been the show's executive producers throughout its entire history. Debbie Liebling, who was Senior Vice President of original programming and development for Comedy Central, also served as an executive producer during the show's first five seasons, coordinating the show's production efforts between South Park Studios and Comedy Central's headquarters in New York City. During its early stages, finished episodes of "South Park" were hastily recorded to D-2 to be sent to Comedy Central for airing in just a few days' time. Each episode used to cost $250,000.


title: South Park

text: Scripts are not written before a season begins. Production of an episode begins on a Thursday, with the show's writing consultants brainstorming with Parker and Stone. Former staff writers include Pam Brady, who has since written scripts for the films "Hot Rod", "Hamlet 2" and "" (with Parker and Stone), and Nancy Pimental, who served as co-host of "Win Ben Stein's Money" and wrote the film "The Sweetest Thing" after her tenure with the show during its first three seasons. Television producer and writer Norman Lear, an alleged idol of both Parker and Stone, served as a guest writing consultant for the season seven (2003) episodes "Cancelled" and "I'm a Little Bit Country". During the 12th and 13th seasons, "Saturday Night Live" actor and writer Bill Hader served as a creative consultant and co-producer.


title: South Park

text: After exchanging ideas, Parker will write a script, and from there the entire team of animators, editors, technicians, and sound engineers will each typically work 100–120 hours in the ensuing week. Since the show's fourth season (2000), Parker has assumed most of the show's directorial duties, while Stone relinquished his share of the directing to focus on handling the coordination and business aspects of the production. On Wednesday, a completed episode is sent to Comedy Central's headquarters via satellite uplink, sometimes just a few hours before its air time of 10 PM Eastern Time.


title: South Park

text: Parker and Stone state that subjecting themselves to a one-week deadline creates more spontaneity amongst themselves in the creative process, which they feel results in a funnier show. The schedule also allows "South Park" to both stay more topical and respond more quickly to specific current events than other satiric animated shows. One of the earliest examples of this was in the season four (2000) episode "Quintuplets 2000", which references the United States Border Patrol's raid of a house during the Elián González affair, an event which occurred only four days before the episode originally aired. The season nine (2005) episode "Best Friends Forever" references the Terri Schiavo case, and originally aired in the midst of the controversy and less than 12 hours before she died. A scene in the season seven (2003) finale "It's Christmas in Canada" references the discovery of dictator Saddam Hussein in a "spider hole" and his subsequent capture, which happened a mere three days prior to the episode airing. The season 12 (2008) episode "About Last Night..." revolves around Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 presidential election, and aired less than 24 hours after Obama was declared the winner, using segments of dialogue from Obama's real victory speech.


title: South Park

text: On October 16, 2013, the show failed to meet their production deadline for the first time ever, after a power outage on October 15 at the production studio prevented the episode, season 17's "", from being finished in time. The episode was rescheduled to air a week later on October 23, 2013. On August 6, 2021, "South Park" was renewed all the way up to season 30 and 14 additional movies, enough to carry the show to at least 2027.


title: South Park

text: The show's style of animation is inspired by the paper cut-out cartoons made by Terry Gilliam for "Monty Python's Flying Circus", of which Parker and Stone have been lifelong fans. Construction paper and traditional stop motion cutout animation techniques were used in the original animated shorts and in the pilot episode. Subsequent episodes have been produced by computer animation, providing a similar look to the originals while requiring a fraction of the time to produce. Before computer artists begin animating an episode, a series of animatics drawn in Toon Boom are provided by the show's storyboard artists.


title: South Park

text: The characters and objects are composed of simple geometrical shapes and primary and secondary colors. Most child characters are the same size and shape, and are distinguished by their clothing, hair and skin colors, and headwear. Characters are mostly presented two-dimensionally and from only one angle. Their movements are animated in an intentionally jerky fashion, as they are purposely not offered the same free range of motion associated with hand-drawn characters. Occasionally, some non-fictional characters are depicted with photographic cutouts of their actual head and face in lieu of a face reminiscent of the show's traditional style. Canadians on the show are often portrayed in an even more minimalist fashion; they have simple beady eyes, and the top halves of their heads simply flap up and down when the characters speak.


title: South Park

text: When the show began using computers, the cardboard cutouts were scanned and re-drawn with CorelDRAW, then imported into PowerAnimator, which was used with SGI workstations to animate the characters. The workstations were linked to a 54-processor render farm that could render 10 to 15 shots an hour. Beginning with season five, the animators began using Maya instead of PowerAnimator. As of 2012, the studio ran a 120-processor render farm that can produce 30 or more shots an hour.


title: South Park

text: PowerAnimator and Maya are high-end programs mainly used for 3D computer graphics, while co-producer and former animation director Eric Stough notes that PowerAnimator was initially chosen because its features helped animators retain the show's "homemade" look. PowerAnimator was also used for making some of the show's visual effects, which are now created using Motion, a newer graphics program created by Apple, Inc. for their Mac OS X operating system. The show's visual quality has improved in recent seasons, though several other techniques are used to intentionally preserve the cheap cutout animation look.


title: South Park

text: A few episodes feature sections of live-action footage, while others have incorporated other styles of animation. Portions of the season eight (2004) premiere "Good Times with Weapons" are done in anime style, while the season 10 episode "Make Love, Not Warcraft" is done partly in machinima. The season 12 episode "Major Boobage", a homage to the 1981 animated film "Heavy Metal", implements scenes accomplished with rotoscoping.


title: South Park

text: Parker and Stone voice most of the male "South Park" characters. Mary Kay Bergman voiced the majority of the female characters until her death in November 1999. Mona Marshall and Eliza Schneider succeeded Bergman, with Schneider leaving the show after its seventh season (2003). She was replaced by April Stewart, who, along with Marshall, continues to voice most of the female characters. Bergman was originally listed in the credits under the alias Shannen Cassidy to protect her reputation as the voice of several Disney and other kid-friendly characters. Stewart was originally credited under the name Gracie Lazar, while Schneider was sometimes credited under her rock opera performance pseudonym Blue Girl.


title: South Park

text: Other voice actors and members of "South Park"<nowiki>'s</nowiki> production staff have voiced minor characters for various episodes, while a few staff members voice recurring characters. Supervising producer Jennifer Howell voices student Bebe Stevens; co-producer and storyboard artist Adrien Beard voices Token Black, who was the school's only African-American student until the introduction of Nichole in "Cartman Finds Love"; writing consultant Vernon Chatman voices an anthropomorphic towel named Towelie; and production supervisor John Hansen voices Mr. Slave, the former gay lover of Mr. Garrison. Throughout the show's run, the voices for toddler and kindergarten characters have been provided by various small children of the show's production staff.


title: South Park

text: When voicing child characters, the voice actors speak within their normal vocal range while adding a childlike inflection. The recorded audio is then edited with Pro Tools, and the pitch is altered to make the voice sound more like that of a fourth grader.


title: South Park

text: Isaac Hayes voiced the character of Chef, an African-American, soul-singing cafeteria worker who was one of the few adults the boys consistently trusted. Hayes agreed to voice the character after being among Parker and Stone's ideal candidates, which also included Lou Rawls and Barry White. Hayes, who lived and hosted a radio show in New York during his tenure with "South Park", recorded his dialogue on a digital audio tape while a director gave directions over the phone, after which the tape would be shipped to the show's production studio in California. After Hayes left the show in early 2006, the character of Chef was killed off in the season 10 (2006) premiere "The Return of Chef".


title: South Park

text: Celebrities who are depicted on the show are usually impersonated, though some celebrities do their own voices for the show. Celebrities who have voiced themselves include Michael Buffer, Brent Musburger, Jay Leno, Robert Smith, and the bands Radiohead and Korn.


title: South Park

text: Comedy team Cheech & Chong voiced characters representing their likenesses for the season four (2000) episode "Cherokee Hair Tampons", which was the duo's first collaborative effort in 20 years. Malcolm McDowell appears in live-action sequences as the narrator of the season four episode "Pip".


title: South Park

text: Jennifer Aniston, Richard Belzer, Natasha Henstridge, Norman Lear, and Peter Serafinowicz have guest starred as other speaking characters. During "South Park"<nowiki>'s</nowiki> earliest seasons, several high-profile celebrities inquired about guest-starring on the show. As a joke, Parker and Stone responded by offering low-profile, non-speaking roles, most of which were accepted; George Clooney provided the barks for Stan's dog Sparky in the season one (1997) episode "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride", Leno provided the meows for Cartman's cat in the season one finale "Cartman's Mom Is a Dirty Slut", and Henry Winkler voiced the various growls and grunts of a kid-eating monster in the season two (1998) episode "City on the Edge of Forever". Jerry Seinfeld offered to lend his voice for the Thanksgiving episode "Starvin' Marvin", but declined to appear when he was only offered a role as "Turkey #2".


title: South Park

text: Parker says that the varying uses of music is of utmost importance to "South Park". Several characters often play or sing songs in order to change or influence a group's behavior, or to educate, motivate, or indoctrinate others. The show also frequently features scenes in which its characters have disapproving reactions to the performances of certain popular musicians.


title: South Park

text: Adam Berry, the show's original score composer, used sound synthesis to simulate a small orchestra, and frequently alluded to existing famous pieces of music. Berry also used signature acoustic guitar and mandolin cues as leitmotifs for the show's establishing shots. After Berry left in 2001, Jamie Dunlap and Scott Nickoley of the Los Angeles-based Mad City Production Studios provided the show's original music for the next seven seasons. Since 2008, Dunlap has been credited as the show's sole score composer. Dunlap's contributions to the show are one of the few that are not achieved at the show's own production offices. Dunlap reads a script, creates a score using digital audio software, and then e-mails the audio file to South Park Studios, where it is edited to fit with the completed episode.


title: South Park

text: In addition to singing in an effort to explain something to the children, Chef would also sing about things relevant to what had transpired in the plot. These songs were original compositions written by Parker, and they were performed by Hayes in the same sexually suggestive R&B style he had used during his own music career. The band DVDA, which consists of Parker and Stone, along with show staff members Bruce Howell and D.A. Young, performed the music for these compositions and, until the character's death on the show, were listed as "Chef's Band" in the closing credits.


title: South Park

text: Rick James, Elton John, Meat Loaf, Joe Strummer, Ozzy Osbourne, Primus, Rancid, and Ween all guest starred and briefly performed in the season two (1998) episode "Chef Aid". Korn debuted their single "Falling Away from Me" as guest stars on the season three (1999) episode "Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery".


title: South Park

text: The show's theme song was a musical score performed by the band Primus, with the lyrics alternately sung by the band's lead singer, Les Claypool, and the show's four central characters during the opening title sequence. Kenny's muffled lines are altered after every few seasons. His lines are usually sexually explicit in nature, such as his original lines, "I like girls with big fat titties, I like girls with deep vaginas".


title: South Park

text: The original unaired opening composition was originally slower and had a length of 40 seconds. It was deemed too long for the opening sequence. So Parker and Stone sped it up for the show's opening, having Claypool re-record his vocals. The instrumental version of the original composition is often played during the show's closing credits.


title: South Park

text: The opening song played in the first four seasons (and the end credits in all seasons) has a folk rock instrumentation with bass guitar, trumpets and rhythmic drums. Its beat is fast in the opening and leisurely in the closing credits. It is in the minor key and it features a tritone or a diminished fifth, creating a melodic dissonance, which captures the show's surrealistic nature. In the latter parts of season 4 and season 5, the opening tune has an electro funk arrangement with pop qualities. Seasons 6–9 have a sprightly bluegrass instrumentation with a usage of banjo and is set in the major key. For the later seasons, the arrangement is electro rock with a breakbeat influence, which feature electric guitars backed up by synthesized, groovy drumbeats.


title: South Park

text: The opening theme song has been remixed three times during the course of the series, including a remix performed by Paul Robb. In 2006, the theme music was remixed with the song "Whamola" by Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, from the album "Purple Onion".


title: South Park

text: Internationally, "South Park" is broadcast in India, New Zealand, and several countries throughout Europe and Latin America on channels that are subsidiaries of Comedy Central and Paramount Media Networks, both subsidiaries of Paramount. In distribution deals with Comedy Central, other independent networks also broadcast the series in other international markets. In Australia, the show is broadcast on The Comedy Channel, Comedy Central and free-to-air channel SBS Viceland (before 2009), while new episodes aired on SBS. The program also airs free-to-air in Australia on 10 Shake, a sister network to Comedy Central through Paramount. The series is broadcast uncensored in Canada in English on The Comedy Network and, later, Much. The series was formerly broadcast on Global. "South Park" also airs in Irish on TG4 in Ireland, STV in Scotland, Comedy Central and MTV in the UK (previously on Sky One, Channel 4, VIVA and 5Star), B92 in Serbia, and on Game One and NRJ 12 in France. In September 2020, SBS, which aired South Park in Australia since 1997, removed South Park from its television line-up, though reruns could air on SBS Viceland.


title: South Park

text: Broadcast syndication rights to "South Park" were acquired by Debmar-Mercury and Tribune Entertainment in 2003 and 2004 respectively. Episodes further edited for content began running in syndication on September 19, 2005, and are aired in the United States with the TV-14 rating. 20th Television replaced Tribune as co-distributor in early 2008. The series is currently aired in syndication in 90 percent of the television markets across the U.S. and Canada, where it generates an estimated US$25 million a year in advertising revenue. In 2019, CBS Television Distribution (the syndication arm of ViacomCBS, now known as Paramount Global), took over the full distribution rights following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox (parent of 20th Television) by The Walt Disney Company (who had employed Debmar-Mercury founder Mort Marcus as the head of their syndication division), distributing the show in syndication.


title: South Park

text: Complete seasons of "South Park" have been regularly released in their entirety on DVD since 2002, with season twenty-three being the most recently released. Several other themed DVD compilations have been released by Rhino Entertainment and Comedy Central, while the three-episode "" story arc was reissued straight-to-DVD as a full-length feature in 2008. Blu-ray releases started in 2008 with the release of season twelve. Subsequent seasons have been released in this format alongside the longer-running DVD releases. The first eleven seasons were released on Blu-ray for the first time in December 2017.


title: South Park

text: In March 2008, Comedy Central made every episode of "South Park" available for free full-length on-demand legal streaming on the official South Park Studios website. From March 2008 until December 2013 new episodes were added to the site the day following their debut, and an uncensored version was posted the following day. The episode stayed up for the remainder of the week, then taken down, and added to the site three weeks later.


title: South Park

text: Within a week, the site served more than a million streams of full episodes, and the number grew to 55 million by October 2008. Legal issues prevent the U.S. content from being accessible outside the U.S., so local servers have been set up in other countries. In September 2009, a South Park Studios website with streaming episodes was launched in the UK and Ireland. In Canada, episodes were available for streaming from The Comedy Network's website, though due to digital rights restrictions, they are no longer available.


title: South Park

text: In July 2014 it was announced that Hulu had signed a three-year deal purchasing exclusive online streaming rights to the "South Park" for a reported $80 million. Following the announcement every episode remained available for free on the South Park Studios website, using the Hulu player. As of September 2014, following the premiere of the eighteenth season, only 30 select episodes would be featured for free viewing at a time on a rotating basis on the website, with new episodes being available for an entire month starting the day following their original airings. The entire series was available on Hulu by this point.


title: South Park

text: In April 2010, the season five episode "Super Best Friends" and the season fourteen episodes "200" and "201" were removed from the site; additionally, these episodes no longer air in reruns and are only available exclusively on DVD and Blu-ray. These episodes remain unavailable following the 2014 purchase by Hulu.


title: South Park

text: As of July 1, 2015, all episodes of "South Park" are available for streaming in Canada on the service CraveTV, which first consisted of seasons 1–18. Subsequent seasons were released the following July.


title: South Park

text: In early October 2019, industry rumors suggested that the streaming rights for "South Park" were being offered to various services, creating an intense bidding war that was estimated to be as high as . HBO and South Park Digital Studios announced that HBO had secured a multi-year deal for the exclusive streaming rights for "South Park" on their HBO Max service starting June 24, 2020. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, "Variety" reported the deal fell between and . Beginning with season 25 in 2022, HBO Max posts new episodes next day after their Comedy Central airing. Once that deal expires in 2025, Paramount+ will become the exclusive streaming home. In addition, the season 27 episodes in 2024 would stream first on Paramount+ before hitting HBO Max.


title: South Park

text: From its debut in 1997 to the season twelve finale in 2008 the series had been originally produced in standard definition, with a 4:3 aspect ratio. In 2009, the series switched to being produced in high definition 1080p with the beginning of the thirteenth season. Since this, all twelve seasons originally produced in standard definition have been remastered by South Park Studios, being fully re-rendered in high definition. The aspect ratio of these episodes were also converted from 4:3 to 16:9 as well. The re-rendered versions were also released on Blu-ray. Several of the re-rendered episodes from the earlier seasons have their original uncensored audio tracks; they had previously been released in censored form.


title: South Park

text: The fifth-season episode "Super Best Friends", which was pulled from syndication and online streams following the controversy surrounding episode "201", was not released alongside the rest of the season when it was released in HD on iTunes in 2011. The episode was later re-rendered and made available for the Blu-ray release of the season that was released on December 5, 2017. The episode is presented in its original presentation, without Muhammad's image being obscured as in later episodes of the series.


title: South Park

text: When "South Park" debuted, it was a huge ratings success for Comedy Central and is seen as being largely responsible for the success of the channel, with Herzog crediting it for putting the network "on the map".


title: South Park

text: The show's first episode, "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", earned a Nielsen rating of 1.3 (980,000 viewers), at the time considered high for a cable program. The show instantly generated buzz among television viewers, and mass viewing parties began assembling on college campuses. By the time the eighth episode, "Starvin' Marvin", aired — three months after the show debuted — ratings and viewership had tripled, and "South Park" was already the most successful show in Comedy Central's history. When the tenth episode "Damien" aired the following February, viewership increased another 33 percent. The episode earned a 6.4 rating, which at the time was over 10 times the average rating earned by a cable show aired in prime time. The ratings peaked with the second episode of season two, "Cartman's Mom Is Still a Dirty Slut", which aired on April 22, 1998. The episode earned an 8.2 rating (6.2 million viewers) and, at the time, set a record as the highest-rated non-sports show in basic cable history. During the spring of 1998, eight of the ten highest-rated shows on basic cable were "South Park" episodes. "South Park's" second season would average an 5.8 rating (12.5 million viewers) which was a lower rating due to Comedy Central's households being much higher.


title: South Park

text: The success of "South Park" prompted more cable companies to carry Comedy Central and led it to its becoming one of the fastest-growing cable channels. The number of households that had Comedy Central jumped from 9.1 million in 1997 to 50 million in June 1998. When the show debuted, the most Comedy Central had earned for a 30-second commercial was US$7,500. Within a year, advertisers were paying an average of US$40,000 for 30 seconds of advertising time during airings of "South Park" in its second season, while some paid as much as US$80,000.


title: South Park

text: By the third season (1999), the series' ratings began to decrease. The third-season premiere episode drew 3.4 million viewers, a dramatic drop from the 5.5 million of the previous season's premiere. Stone and Parker attributed this drop in the show's ratings to the media hype that surrounded the show in the previous year, adding that the third season ratings reflected the show's "true" fan base. Regardless the viewership stayed consistent with an average rating being between 3.0 (8 million viewers) to a 5.5 (17.5 million viewers). The show's ratings dropped further in its fourth season (2000), with episodes averaging just above 1.5 million viewers (though the season premiere would get 22.1 million viewers due to the hype caused by the movie). The ratings eventually increased, and seasons five through nine consistently averaged about 3 million viewers per episode. Season 8's episode Goobacks would have South Park's viewership peak at 30 million viewers. Seasons 10 to 12 would average 5 million viewers. Though its viewership is lower than it was at the height of its popularity in its earliest seasons, "South Park" remains one of the highest-rated series on Comedy Central. The season 14 (2010) premiere gained 3.7 million viewers, the show's highest-rated season premiere since 1998. In 2016, a "New York Times" study of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook Likes found that "perhaps unsurprisingly, South Park ... is most popular in Colorado". More recent seasons have seen substantially lower ratings, with Season 25 averaging 0.65 million viewers an episode.


title: South Park

text: In 2004, Channel 4 voted "South Park" the third-greatest cartoon of all time. In 2007, "Time" magazine included the show on its list of the "100 Best TV Shows of All Time", proclaiming it as "America's best source of rapid-fire satire for [the past] decade". The same year, "Rolling Stone" declared it to be the funniest show on television since its debut 10 years prior. In 2008, "South Park" was named the 12th-greatest TV show of the past 25 years by "Entertainment Weekly", while AOL declared it as having the "most astute" characters of any show in history when naming it the 16th-best television comedy series of all time. In 2011, "South Park" was voted number one in the "25 Greatest Animated TV Series" poll by "Entertainment Weekly". The character of Cartman ranked 10th on TV Guide's 2002 list of the "Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters", 198th on VH1's "200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons", 19th on Bravo's "100 Greatest TV Characters" television special in 2004, and second on MSNBC's 2005 list of TV's scariest characters behind Mr. Burns from "The Simpsons". In 2006, Comedy Central received a Peabody Award for "South Park"<nowiki>'s</nowiki> "stringent social commentary" and "undeniably fearless lampooning of all that is self-important and hypocritical in American life". In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked "South Park" at number 63 among the "101 Best-Written Shows Ever". Also in 2013, TV Guide listed the show at number 10 among the "60 Greatest Cartoons of All Time". In 2019, the series was ranked 42nd on "The Guardian" newspaper's list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century.


title: South Park

text: "South Park" won the CableACE Award for Best Animated Series in 1997, the last year the awards were given out. In 1998, "South Park" was nominated for the Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Primetime or Late Night Television Program. It was also nominated for the 1998 GLAAD Award for Outstanding TV – Individual Episode for "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride".


title: South Park

text: "South Park" has been nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program sixteen times (1998, 2000, 2002, 2004–2011, and 2013–2017). The show has won the award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour) four times, for the 2005 episode "Best Friends Forever", the 2006 episode "Make Love, Not Warcraft", the 2009 episode "Margaritaville", and the 2012 episode "Raising the Bar". The "Imaginationland" trilogy of episodes won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or More) in 2008.


title: South Park

text: The show's frequent depiction of taboo subject matter, general toilet humor, accessibility to younger viewers, disregard for conservative sensibilities, negative depiction of liberal causes, and portrayal of religion for comic effect have generated controversy and debate over the course of its run.


title: South Park

text: As the series became popular, students in two schools were barred from wearing "South Park"-related T-shirts, and the headmaster of a UK public school asked parents not to let their children watch the programme after eight- and nine-year-old children voted the "South Park" character Cartman as their favorite personality in a 1999 poll. Parker and Stone assert that the show is not meant to be viewed by young children, and the show is certified with TV ratings that indicate its intention for mature audiences.


title: South Park

text: Parents Television Council founder L. Brent Bozell III and Action for Children's Television founder Peggy Charren have both condemned the show, with the latter claiming it is "dangerous to the democracy". Several other activist groups have protested the show's parodies of Christianity and portrayal of Jesus Christ. Stone has stated that parents who disapprove of "South Park" for its portrayal of how kids behave are upset because they "have an idyllic vision of what kids are like", adding "[kids] don't have any kind of social tact or etiquette, they're just complete little raging bastards".


title: South Park

text: The show further lampooned the controversy surrounding its use of profanity, as well as the media attention surrounding the network show "Chicago Hope"<nowiki>'s</nowiki> singular use of the word "shit", with the season five premiere "It Hits the Fan", in which the word "shit" is said 162 times without being bleeped for censorship purposes, while also appearing uncensored in written form. In the days following the show's original airing, 5,000 disapproving e-mails were sent to Comedy Central. Despite its 43 uncensored uses of the racial slur "nigger", the season 11 episode "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson" generated relatively little controversy, as most in the black community and the NAACP praised the episode for its context and its comedic way of conveying other races' perceptions of how black people feel when hearing the word.


title: South Park

text: Specific controversies regarding the show have included an April Fools' Day prank played on its viewers in 1998, its depiction of the Virgin Mary in the season nine (2005) finale "Bloody Mary" that angered several Catholics, its depiction of Steve Irwin with a stingray barb stuck in his chest in the episode "Hell on Earth 2006", which originally aired less than two months after Irwin was killed in the same fashion, Comedy Central's censorship of the depiction of Muhammad in the season 10 episode "Cartoon Wars Part II" in the wake of the "Jyllands-Posten" Muhammad cartoons controversy and consistent mockery of the concept of climate change by using climate change denialist talking points.


title: South Park

text: The season nine (2005) episode "Trapped in the Closet" denounces Scientology as nothing more than "a big fat global scam", while freely divulging church information that Scientology normally only reveals to members who make significant monetary contributions to the church. The episode also ambiguously parodies the rumors involving the sexual orientation of Scientologist Tom Cruise, who allegedly demanded any further reruns of the episode be canceled. Isaac Hayes, a Scientologist, later quit "South Park" because of his objection to the episode.


title: South Park

text: The season fourteen episodes "200" and "201" were mired in controversy for satirizing issues surrounding the depiction of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. The website for the organization Revolution Muslim, a New York-based radical Muslim organization, posted an entry that included a warning to creators Parker and Stone that they risk violent retribution for their depictions of Muhammad. It said that they "will probably wind up like Theo van Gogh for airing this show". The posting provided the addresses to Comedy Central in New York and the production company in Los Angeles. The author of the post, Zachary Adam Chesser (whose alias is Abu Talhah al-Amrikee), said it was meant to serve as a warning to Parker and Stone, not a threat, and that providing the addresses was meant to give people the opportunity to protest.


title: South Park

text: Despite Chesser's claims that the website entry was a warning, several media outlets and observers interpreted it as a threat. Support for the episode has come in the form of Everybody Draw Mohammed Day, a movement started on Facebook that encourages people to draw Muhammad on May 20. The "200" episode, which also depicted the Buddha snorting cocaine, prompted the government of Sri Lanka to ban the series outright.


title: South Park

text: Due to many taboo topics in China, such as Dalai Lama, Winnie the Pooh, summary execution, cannabis culture, and organ harvesting being involved in the season 23 (2019) episode "Band in China," "South Park" was entirely banned in China after the episode's broadcast. The series' Baidu Baike article, Baidu Tieba forum, Douban page, Zhihu page and Bilibili videos have been deleted or inaccessible to the public, all related keywords and topics have been prohibited from being searched and discussed on China-based search engines and social media sites including Baidu, QQ, Sina Weibo and on WeChat public platforms. Parker and Stone issued a sarcastic apology in response.


title: South Park

text: Commentary made in episodes has been interpreted as statements Parker and Stone are attempting to make to the viewing public, and these opinions have been subject to much critical analysis in the media and literary world within the framework of popular philosophical, theological, social, and political concepts. Since "South Park" debuted, college students have written term papers and doctoral theses analyzing the show, while Brooklyn College offers a course called ""South Park" and Political Correctness".


title: South Park

text: Soon after one of Kenny's trademark deaths on the show, other characters would typically shout "Oh my God, they killed Kenny!", followed by another yelling out "You bastard(s)!"—these lines were usually said by the characters Stan and Kyle, respectively. The exclamation quickly became a popular catchphrase, while the running gag of Kenny's recurring deaths is one of the more recognized hallmarks among viewers of modern television. Cartman's exclamations of "Respect my authori-tah!" and "Screw you guys ...I'm going home!" became catchphrases as well, and during the show's earlier seasons, were highly popular in the lexicon of viewers. Cartman's eccentric intonation of "Hey!" was included in the 2002 edition of "The Oxford Dictionary of Catchphrases".


title: South Park

text: In the season two episode "Chef Aid", attorney Johnnie Cochran uses what's called in the show the Chewbacca defense, which is a legal strategy that involves addressing plot holes related to Chewbacca in the film "Return of the Jedi" rather than discussing the trial at hand during a closing argument in a deliberate attempt to confuse jurors into thinking there is reasonable doubt. The term "Chewbacca defense" has been documented as being used by criminologists, forensic scientists, and political commentators in their various discussions of similar methods used in legal cases and public forums.


title: South Park

text: Another season two episode, "Gnomes", revolves around a group of "underpants gnomes" who, as their name suggests, run a corporation stealing people's underpants. When asked about their business model, various gnomes reply that theirs is a three-step process: Phase 1 is "collect underpants". Phase 3 is "profit". However, the gnomes are unable to explain what is to occur between the first and final steps, and "Phase 2" is accompanied by a large question mark on their corporate flow chart. Using "????" and "PROFIT!" as the last two steps in a process (usually jokingly) has become a widely popular Internet meme because of this. Especially in the context of politics and economics, "underpants gnomes" has been used by some commentators to characterize a conspicuous gap of logic or planning.


title: South Park

text: When Sophie Rutschmann of the University of Strasbourg discovered a mutated gene that causes an adult fruit fly to die within two days after it is infected with certain bacteria, she named the gene "kep1" in honor of Kenny.


title: South Park

text: While some conservatives have condemned "South Park" for its vulgarity, a growing population of people who hold center-right political beliefs, including teenagers and young adults, have embraced the show for its tendency to mock liberal viewpoints and lampoon liberal celebrities and icons. Political commentator Andrew Sullivan dubbed the group "South Park" Republicans, or "South Park" conservatives. Sullivan averred that members of the group are "extremely skeptical of political correctness but also are socially liberal on many issues", though he says the phrase applied to them is meant to be more of a casual indication of beliefs than a strong partisan label. Brian C. Anderson describes the group as "generally characterized by holding strong libertarian beliefs and rejecting more conservative social policy", and notes that although the show makes "wicked fun of conservatives", it is "at the forefront of a conservative revolt against liberal media" and Hollywood's "liberal hegemony."


title: South Park

text: Parker and Stone reject the idea that the show has any underlying political position, and deny having a political agenda when creating an episode.


title: South Park

text: The two claim the show's higher proportion of instances lampooning liberal rather than conservative orthodoxies stems simply from their preference for making fun of liberals. While Stone has been quoted saying, "I hate conservatives, but I really fucking hate liberals", Stone and Parker have explained that their drive to lampoon a given target comes first from the target's insistence on telling other people how to behave. The duo explain that they regard liberals as having both delusions of entitlement to remain free from satire, and a propensity to enforce political correctness while patronizing the citizens of Middle America. Parker and Stone are uncomfortable with the idea of themselves or "South Park" being assigned any kind of partisan classification. Parker said he rejects the ""South Park" Republican" and ""South Park" conservative" labels, feeling that either tag implies that one only adheres to strictly conservative or liberal viewpoints. The duo has in the past reluctantly labeled themselves libertarians and fans of government gridlock. In 2006, they said that they were "rooting for Hillary Clinton in 2008 simply because it would be weird to have her as president."


title: WandaVision

text: WandaVision is an American television miniseries created by Jac Schaeffer for the streaming service Disney+, based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch and Vision. It is the first television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) produced by Marvel Studios, sharing continuity with the films of the franchise, and is set after the events of the film "" (2019). It follows Wanda Maximoff and Vision as they live an idyllic suburban life in the town of Westview, New Jersey, until their reality starts moving through different decades of sitcom homages and television tropes. Schaeffer served as head writer for the series, which was directed by Matt Shakman.


title: WandaVision

text: Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany reprise their respective roles as Maximoff and Vision from the film series, with Debra Jo Rupp, Fred Melamed, Kathryn Hahn, Teyonah Parris, Randall Park, Kat Dennings, and Evan Peters also starring. By September 2018, Marvel Studios was developing a number of limited series for Disney+ centered on supporting characters from the MCU films such as Maximoff and Vision, with Olsen and Bettany returning. Schaeffer was hired in January 2019, with the series officially announced that April, and Shakman joining in August. The production used era-appropriate sets, costumes, and effects to recreate the different sitcom styles that the series pays homage to. Filming began in Atlanta, Georgia, in November 2019, before production halted in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Production resumed in Los Angeles in September 2020 and wrapped that November.


title: WandaVision

text: "WandaVision" premiered with its first two episodes on January 15, 2021, and ran for nine episodes, concluding on March 5. It is the first series, and beginning, of of the MCU. The series received praise from critics for its homages to past sitcoms and for the performances of its cast, especially those of Olsen, Bettany, and Hahn, though there was criticism for the finale. It was widely discussed and analyzed by fans based on various popular theories, as well as by commentators for its exploration of grief and nostalgia. The series has received numerous accolades, including 23 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning three. Olsen reprised her role in the film "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" (2022), which continues Maximoff's story from "WandaVision", while two spin-off series respectively focused on Hahn's Agatha Harkness and Bettany's Vision are in development.


title: WandaVision

text: Three weeks after the events of "" (2019), Wanda Maximoff and Vision are living an idyllic suburban life in the town of Westview, New Jersey, trying to conceal their true natures. As their surroundings begin to move through different decades and they encounter various television tropes, the couple suspects that things are not as they seem.


title: WandaVision

text: Recurring residents of Westview include Asif Ali as Abilash Tandon who plays Vision's co-worker "Norm"; David Lengel as Harold Proctor who plays "Phil Jones"; Amos Glick as a pizza delivery man cast as "Dennis", the mailman/delivery man; Ithamar Enriquez and Victoria Blade as residents cast as the commercial man and woman actors; Emma Caulfield Ford as Sarah Proctor, Harold's wife who plays "Dottie Jones", a "skeptical mom who rules the neighborhood with an iron fist and poison smile"; and David Payton as John Collins who plays "Herb". Josh Stamberg also recurs as S.W.O.R.D. acting director Tyler Hayward, along with Alan Heckner and Selena Anduze as S.W.O.R.D. agents Monti and Rodriguez. Julian Hilliard and Jett Klyne portray Maximoff and Vision's sons Billy and Tommy, respectively.


title: WandaVision

text: By September 2018, Marvel Studios was developing several limited series for its parent company Disney's streaming service, Disney+, to be centered on supporting characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films who had not starred in their own films, such as Wanda Maximoff. Actors who portrayed the characters in the films were expected to reprise their roles for the limited series, including Elizabeth Olsen as Maximoff. The series for Disney+ were expected to be six to eight episodes each, have a "hefty [budget] rivaling those of a major studio production", and be produced by Marvel Studios rather than Marvel Television, which produced previous MCU television series. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige was believed to be taking a "hands-on role" in each limited series' development, focusing on "continuity of story" with the films and "handling" the actors who would be reprising their roles from the films. Brian Chapek, a creative executive at Marvel, began initial work on a Maximoff series before co-executive producer Mary Livanos joined the project in mid-2018 and took over the series' development. By the end of October, Paul Bettany's Vision was expected to play a significant role in the series, which would focus on the relationship between Maximoff and Vision. In the following months, the titles "Vision and the Scarlet Witch" and "The Vision and Scarlet Witch" were both reported.


title: WandaVision

text: Feige came up with the idea of having Maximoff and Vision living in a fantasy world of "suburban bliss", based on his love of sitcoms and how they can be used to escape from reality. When he was meeting with potential head writers for the series, some did not feel his proposed sitcom element would work. Jac Schaeffer, who was working on "Black Widow" (2021) at the time, heard the premise of the series and was excited by it. She had a meeting to pitch her ideas, and was hired as head writer in January 2019. Schaeffer was set to write the first episode and executive produce the series. That April, Disney and Marvel officially announced the series as "WandaVision", and Matt Shakman was hired to direct and serve as an executive producer in August. Feige also executive produces alongside Marvel Studios' Louis D'Esposito and Victoria Alonso. Rather than call the series "Wanda and Vision" or "The Scarlet Witch and Vision", Feige was inspired to use a compound title like "WandaVision" after seeing the title for the film "BlacKkKlansman" (2018), but he was hesitant about using it. Schaeffer insisted on using the title after hearing it, feeling it was perfect for the series. There was some backlash when the title was announced as it was perceived to be "the silliest title possible", but Schaeffer felt viewers would change their minds once they watched the series. Feige said the series would tell the story of Maximoff and Vision, show Maximoff's full abilities, explore who Vision is, and introduce Maximoff's comic book name "Scarlet Witch" to the MCU in ways that are fun, funny, and "somewhat scary". He added that the series would have repercussions for the rest of the MCU's , but said viewers would not need to be familiar with the MCU to understand the series. He did think there would be a "wealth of rewards" for those who had already seen all the MCU films and knew the plans for Phase Four.


title: WandaVision

text: The series was described as part sitcom, part "Marvel epic" by Feige, "super avant-garde and weird" by Bettany, an action movie mixed with sitcoms by actor Teyonah Parris, and a combination of superhero action and "small-town sitcom silliness" by Livanos. Shakman was "uniquely equipped" to direct such a series because of his experience directing series like the psychological drama "Mad Men", the large-scale action series "Game of Thrones", and sitcoms like "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia". Shakman also felt more qualified to make "WandaVision" since he was a child actor on 1980s sitcoms such as "Just the Ten of Us". The series totals approximately six hours of content across nine episodes, which vary from a half-hour comedy format to 50 minutes long. During development, the budget was reported to be as much as $25 million per episode.


title: WandaVision

text: Much of the series takes place within a fictional sitcom called "WandaVision". Schaeffer received comics material and an outline of what Marvel Studios hoped to accomplish so she could help shape their ideas. Feige was visually inspired by Mike del Mundo's "Norman Rockwell meets "Leave it to Beaver"" covers for the comic book series "The Vision" by Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta, and pitched the series to Olsen and Bettany as a combination of that comic book and the "House of M" storyline by Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel. Other inspiration was taken from the "Scarlet Witch: Witches' Road" trade paperback, the "Avengers Disassembled" storyline by Bendis and David Finch that preceded "House of M", the "Vision Quest" storyline from "West Coast Avengers" by John Byrne, and the comic book runs of "The Vision and the Scarlet Witch" by Bill Mantlo and Rick Leonardi, and by Steve Englehart and Richard Howell.


title: WandaVision

text: Feige, Schaeffer, Shakman, and Livanos dedicated themselves to "nail[ing] down" the series' irreverent tone. Schaeffer was inspired by the MCU film "" (2017) and the Marvel Television X-Men series "Legion" (2017–19), believing those projects broke the mold of what Marvel stories could be and were daring, original, and "bananas". She felt they allowed "WandaVision" to also be unique and different, and noted that it would be the polar opposite to her work on "Black Widow" which focused on aggressive, visceral action. Schaeffer hired Gretchen Enders, Megan McDonnell, Bobak Esfarjani, Peter Cameron, Mackenzie Dohr, Chuck Hayward, Cameron Squires, and Laura Donney for the series' writers room, a grouping of half men, half women, and several people of color, because Schaeffer believed the varying perspectives would create better stories. Each writer had different areas of expertise that they brought to the series and were aided by Schaeffer's assistant Laura Monti and the general writers' assistant Clay Lapari. Staff writer McDonnell was eventually promoted to story editor. Many of the writers had previous television experience, unlike Schaeffer, which helped her with the initial challenge of crafting the limited series' long-form structure as well as each episode within that larger narrative. Schaeffer believed the story could never have been told with a film format because it needed to establish its sitcom reality with a true television aesthetic before that could be broken.


title: WandaVision

text: Schaeffer found the central idea of Maximoff being responsible for the sitcom reality to be a simple concept, and felt it would be more compelling if it was revealed through a mystery. This is done by showing Maximoff and Vision living in the sitcom reality for the first three episodes before the fourth episode retells those events from a real world perspective to provide answers for viewers. Schaeffer described this as starting in a "grounded" sitcom with "Twilight Zone" "fraying edges", followed by a bottle episode to explain the early events. How long the series remained in the sitcom reality before giving answers to viewers was a big concern for Schaeffer. Following the "enormous info dump" in the fourth episode, Schaeffer hoped the audience could experience the rest of the series as an "emotional and a psychological journey, rather than a sneaky mystery the whole way". She pitched the rest of the series as mixing sitcom and real world elements until the penultimate episode explores Maximoff's history and creation of the sitcom reality, concluding in a big finale with the spectacle of an MCU film. She compared the series to a multi-issue comic book and said it remained very close to her original pitch, which was structured to follow the five stages of grief by starting with denial and ending with acceptance. Ten episodes were originally planned, but this was reworked to nine episodes to improve the "rhythm". The episode titles come from phrases featured in promotions or the opening credits of television series.


title: WandaVision

text: After receiving Marvel Studios' initial ideas for the series, Schaeffer helped figure out what they meant for the characters. Shakman and Schaeffer watched all the existing MCU footage of Maximoff and Vision, including footage that did not make it into the previous MCU films such as unused dailies. While exploring this footage, Schaeffer was drawn to mundane character moments such as Maximoff and Vision cooking paprikash in "" (2016) and the two enjoying their time together in Scotland in "" (2018). Schaeffer said there was a wonder and sincerity to the pair, and felt their family dynamic within a sitcom setting would result in a calm, warm feeling despite the ridiculous premise of the series. She found the pair appealing because they are both outsiders who "find each other. They're both different with capital s."


title: WandaVision

text: "WandaVision" begins three weeks after the events of "" (2019), and is set in the fictional town of Westview, New Jersey, which was named as a reference to Feige's hometown of Westfield, New Jersey, but with the initials "W" and "V". The series shows how Maximoff grew up in an Eastern European country and formed a love for the black-market DVDs of American sitcoms that her father sold. Schaeffer was excited to use the series to give social commentary while telling a story about character and grief, as she found Maximoff's grief to be relatable. A grief counselor was consulted, and Shakman said the entire series was about Maximoff learning to process and overcome her grief. Schaeffer was committed to depicting Maximoff as a fully realized character, including showing aspects of her that had not been seen much previously in the MCU such as her joy and humor. A great concern for Schaeffer, Livanos, and the writers was avoiding a portrayal of Maximoff that made her seem crazy or out of control, as some of her comic book appearances have done, and Schaeffer hoped they gave a "nuanced portrayal of a very complicated woman". Olsen believed Schaeffer was one of the first writers to work with Maximoff who understood the "360 of [her] inner and exterior world".


title: WandaVision

text: By introducing the "Scarlet Witch" name as a title linked to chaos magic and a preordained destiny, the series was able to further define magic in the MCU beyond what was introduced in "Doctor Strange" (2016) without limiting Maximoff's character too much. Witchcraft, the Salem witch trials, and what Schaeffer described as "our sort of Americanized version and feminized version of witches and magic" were all new additions to the MCU after "Doctor Strange" introduced what Schaeffer felt was "more of a masculine magic". The series also introduces the organization S.W.O.R.D. to the MCU, changing its name from the comic books' Sentient World Observation and Response Department to Sentient Weapon Observation and Response Division. This is due to the organization in the MCU dealing with sentient weapons, such as reconstructing the original Vision with the goal of turning him into a weapon. One of the S.W.O.R.D. agents seen in the series is a grown-up Monica Rambeau, who was introduced to the MCU as an eleven-year-old in "Captain Marvel" (2019). Olsen said Rambeau's material was rewritten during filming as Marvel Studios formed a better understanding of what they wanted to do with the character in the future. Other existing MCU characters Darcy Lewis and Jimmy Woo were added to the series out of the desire to have characters outside of the Hex with a science and law enforcement background, respectively. Initial drafts of the early episodes had more backstory for Lewis that was removed in favor of focusing on the S.W.O.R.D. base when outside of the Hex, though elements of these scenes were added into later episodes. Maximoff and Vision's sons Billy and Tommy appear as 10-year-olds in the series. Shakman said there were never plans to make the characters as old as they are in the Young Avengers comic book team since that would deprive Maximoff of more time with them.


title: WandaVision

text: "WandaVision" directly sets up "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" (2022), in which Olsen reprises her role as Maximoff. Schaeffer said Feige handled the connections between MCU projects, but she and Shakman did have conversations with the creative teams of "Multiverse of Madness", "" (2021), and Marvel Studios' other Disney+ series to discuss the connections between stories and ensure an effortless handoff from "WandaVision" to the films. Livanos met with "Loki" executive producers Stephen Broussard and Kevin Wright and "What If...?" executive producer Brad Winderbaum to establish a "rule book" for the multiverse, its branch timelines, and nexus events. Benedict Cumberbatch was originally planned to reprise his role as Dr. Stephen Strange in the "WandaVision" finale, but he was written out of the series to avoid him taking focus away from Maximoff. The "Multiverse of Madness" script was rewritten to accommodate this change; the film's writer, Michael Waldron, worked with Schaeffer to do this.


title: WandaVision

text: Shakman and Schaeffer said the series was a "love letter to the golden age of television", though it pays tribute to sitcoms from many eras of American television. They chose to focus on family sitcoms over other types, such as workplace sitcoms, because the family aspect kept the series centered, and because Maximoff is searching for a family after losing her loved ones in the films. Schaeffer and Shakman studied past sitcoms to learn their "trappings and styles", while avoiding tropes from older sitcoms that would not be acceptable in a modern series. Schaeffer, Shakman, and Feige spoke with Dick Van Dyke, the star of the eponymous 1960s sitcom, to learn about the making of that series. Other sitcoms that inspired the series include "I Love Lucy", "My Three Sons", "Father Knows Best", "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet", "Bewitched", "The Brady Bunch", "Family Ties", "Out of This World", "Malcolm in the Middle", "Modern Family", and "The Office". Meta references are made to "Full House", which starred Olsen's older sisters Mary-Kate and Ashley. Before they decided to focus on family sitcoms, an episode of the series was developed based on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" that would have explored Maximoff's work-life balance. Olsen said the sitcom decade being explored in each episode, and the tropes from that decade that were highlighted, were chosen to connect to where the characters were in the larger story. Each episode was meant to capture key elements of the chosen time period while showing the evolution of sitcoms over time. For example, the first episode pays homage to "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "I Love Lucy" from the 1950s and early 1960s, and was meant to have a general 1950s time period. The changes between decades are explained in the series by changes within the fictional "WandaVision" program, which Maximoff is initially doing subconsciously when something goes wrong in that reality. She later makes these changes consciously. Part of Schaeffer's initial pitch for the series was to link the decade changes to xenophobia from the couple's neighbors, as was seen in some of the characters' comic book appearances, with the neighbors becoming more aggressive each decade until they chase Maximoff and Vision out of town. The relationship with the neighbors was ultimately portrayed in a more subtle way that Schaeffer felt was creepier, with elements of psychological horror.


title: WandaVision

text: The fictional sitcom features fake commercials that are "slightly nefarious", which Feige said were "part of the truths of the show beginning to leak out". He felt that new viewers would see these as strange versions of commercials from the different sitcom eras, while those well versed in the MCU would be able to see connections to past events. Several commentators believed the commercials were analogies for traumatic events in Maximoff's life, which Schaeffer later acknowledged. Shakman said the commercials were a thematic addition that presented Maximoff's history while being open to interpretation, and Schaeffer said they were tied to both Maximoff's subconscious and the wider MCU in an open-ended way. She added that they gave the series a structure and rhythm that was "part of the fabric of the sitcom aesthetic". An early version of the commercials had "more of an agenda and a function in the plot", with multiple commercials per episode also considered. When Doctor Strange was planned to appear in the series, the commercials would have been his attempts to reach Maximoff through the sitcom reality. He would have appeared in the Nexus pharmaceutical commercial in a "blink-and-you-miss-it cameo" as the pharmacist, before his full appearance in the finale.


title: WandaVision

text: With the official announcement of the series in April 2019 came confirmation that Olsen and Bettany would reprise their respective roles of Maximoff and Vision. Bettany agreed to join the project after meeting with Feige and D'Esposito, who pitched an "exciting and bonkers" idea for his character's return. Feige pitched the series to Olsen during negotiations for her to return in "Endgame" after Maximoff's temporary death in "Infinity War". She was initially hesitant about the move to television, wondering if it was a "demotion" from the films, but was excited when she learned of Schaeffer's involvement as well as the comic book storylines that inspired the series. Olsen came to see it as her "wildest screen opportunity yet".


title: WandaVision

text: Teyonah Parris was announced in the role of a grown-up Monica Rambeau in July 2019. Rambeau was previously portrayed as an eleven-year-old by Akira Akbar in "Captain Marvel", which is set in 1995. The character first appears in "WandaVision" as "Geraldine" inside the sitcom reality, and Schaeffer had been under the impression that Parris would be announced as playing "Geraldine" to keep the character reveal a surprise. A month later, at Disney's biennial convention D23, Kat Dennings and Randall Park were set to reprise their respective MCU film roles as Darcy Lewis and Jimmy Woo. Dennings had appeared in the films "Thor" (2011) and "" (2013), and was surprised and thrilled to be brought back to the MCU for "WandaVision" after so many years. Park joined the series following a general meeting with Marvel to discuss Woo's MCU future following his introduction in "Ant-Man and the Wasp" (2018). Schaeffer felt it was fun to feature Dennings and Park since both were veteran sitcom actors, respectively starring in "2 Broke Girls" and "Fresh Off the Boat".


title: WandaVision

text: Also at D23, Kathryn Hahn was announced in the role of Agnes, Maximoff and Vision's neighbor. Hahn had been fascinated by the "gasp of human magic" in the MCU, and had a general meeting with Marvel Studios since the studio was also interested in working with her. Shortly after, Marvel suggested Hahn for the role of Agnes to Schaeffer and Shakman, and they agreed that they should cast her. Several days after the general meeting, they contacted Hahn about the series and she said that she "couldn't have dreamt a cooler part", partially due to the sitcom elements. The seventh episode reveals that "Agnes" is actually Agatha Harkness, a character in Marvel Comics.


title: WandaVision

text: The official trailer revealed that Fred Melamed and Debra Jo Rupp would appear in the series, portraying Todd and Sharon Davis. They appear as Maximoff and Vision's neighbors, "Mr. and Mrs. Hart", within the fictional "WandaVision" program. Rupp previously had a long-running role in the sitcom "That '70s Show" and was comfortable with "WandaVision" sitcom style. She was asked to join the series by Shakman, who she had worked with at the Geffen Playhouse where Shakman is the artistic director. Similarly, Shakman and Schaeffer offered Melamed the role without him auditioning, and he accepted the role because he was interested by the idea of the series. "WandaVision" fifth episode introduces Evan Peters as a "recast" Pietro Maximoff, Wanda's brother. Pietro was previously portrayed in the MCU by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, while Peters played a different version of the character named Peter Maximoff in 20th Century Fox's "X-Men" film series. Schaeffer stated that it took a while to learn if Peters would be able to be a part of the series, and noted that the creatives did not have a secondary plan if they were not able to use him. The character's "real name" is revealed to be Ralph Bohner in the finale.


title: WandaVision

text: Emma Caulfield Ford was cast in October 2019 as Sarah Proctor, who plays "Dottie Jones" in the "WandaVision" program, after being approached by Schaeffer to audition for the role; they previously worked together on the film "Timer" (2009). Ford said she was cast in part to help attract genre fans who would recognize her from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", and her involvement was also intended to be a red herring for the series' mysteries. Asif Ali was revealed to be cast in October 2020, as Abilash Tandon who plays Vision's co-worker "Norm", as was Jolene Purdy, cast as Isabel Matsueda who plays Maximoff and Vision's neighbor "Beverly".


title: WandaVision

text: "WandaVision" was the first production to have its digital intermediate (DI) work completed at Marvel Studios' new color department, run by Evan Jacobs. Shakman and cinematographer Jess Hall began working with that group before filming to determine the look of each sitcom period that the series was trying to replicate. Shakman and Hall put together a collection of images from existing shows that influenced the framing, composition, and color of each sitcom setting, and Hall created a specific color palette of 20 to 30 colors for each episode based on those reference images so he could control the "visual integrity in color of each episode", a process that he had previously used for the film "Ghost in the Shell" (2017). Hall worked with Josh Pines of Technicolor SA to create 23 different lookup tables for translating colors into the final look during the DI process, and worked with production designer Mark Worthington and costume designer Mayes C. Rubeo to ensure that the sets and costumes for each episode matched with his color palettes. Shakman said there was a progression of color between each episode of the series, and certain colors were carefully used such as red, which is important to both Maximoff and Vision.


title: WandaVision

text: Worthington made sets for Maximoff and Vision's house in each era, and intended for this to look like one house with the same basic layout that was built in the 1950s and then renovated each decade. Changes were made to this as needed, such as adding the nursery for the third episode, with objects inside the house also updated each decade along with the style of Maximoff's red Buick. For the S.W.O.R.D. sets outside of the sitcom reality, Worthington used NASA as an inspiration since S.W.O.R.D. is a space agency, but wanted to create the MCU version of that. He said there were some similarities to previous MCU sets for S.H.I.E.L.D., but the two agencies serve different functions so he wanted to differentiate them. Worthington added that the S.W.O.R.D. base outside Westview was built on a field that was cold and exposed to the weather, while the soundstages for the sitcom sets were warm and dry, which helped with differentiating the ideal sitcom world from the reality outside. Worthington and set decorator Kathy Orlando sourced period-appropriate household items and furniture from secondhand stores in Atlanta, Georgia. Prop designer Russell Bobbit, who was the prop master for many MCU films, also previously worked on the film "Pleasantville" (1998) which Shakman said the series had a "spiritual connection" to along with "The Truman Show" (1998).


title: WandaVision

text: Rubeo said it was rare for a singular piece of media to progress through so many different decades without its characters aging, and noted that the costumes of the various sitcoms being emulated by the series were not necessarily what was being worn at the time so she was replicating the looks of those series rather than the decades themselves. Around 80 percent of the period costumes were made for the series to fit the actors, with the rest bought or rented from "special [costume] houses" and collections that knew of the fabrics used in the 1950s and 1960s and how garments were constructed then. Olsen enjoyed exploring how women were viewed in society in each decade through Maximoff's costumes. Hair stylist Karen Bartek created 22 wigs for the series to represent the different eras from the 1950s to the 1980s, which allowed these different eras to be filmed in one day without needing to re-style the actors' hair. Rubeo added an element of teal to each of Dennings' costumes to match the color of the actress's eyes.


title: WandaVision

text: Maximoff gets a new superhero costume at the end of the series when she takes on the mantle of the Scarlet Witch. This costume was designed by Andy Park of Marvel Studios' visual development team, and Rubeo worked with Ironhead Studios to create it. She explained that the creatives wanted the costume to be more mature and "weathered" than Maximoff's previous costumes, acknowledging what the character has gone through in the MCU so far. They also wanted it to be less revealing and not include a corset or tights, as Olsen had previously expressed concern over her "cleavage corset" costume from the films and the fact that she was the only female superhero in the MCU with such a revealing outfit; Olsen consulted on the design for the new costume. Shakman said the biggest element for discussion was the crown, which they initially thought should be smaller than it is in the comics. They ultimately decided to "go big or go home" with the crown, which is depicted as forming from magical energy before Maximoff uses her creation magic to turn it into a solid object. Rubeo worked with shoemaking company Jitterbug Boy to create the boots for Maximoff's costume.


title: WandaVision

text: To hint that Agnes is really Agatha Harkness, Rubeo designed a medallion with three witches on it that the character wears as a brooch in each episode, except for when she is in aerobics gear in "On a Very Special Episode..." since Rubeo could not find a natural way to integrate the brooch with that outfit. For Agatha's real witch costume, Rubeo wanted to add to the mystery of the character by giving her a dress made from 10 layers of fabric that are each a different color and texture. Hahn worked with Rubeo on the costume design, and said it was intended to honor the character's appearance in the comic books but with a "modern look on top of it".


title: WandaVision

text: The series' main title sequence was created by Perception, and starts with a "please stand by" visual in the style of the episode's sitcom era. This is followed by close-ups of footage from the episode on a television screen, which the camera then pushes through to show the RGB pixels that form television images. The pixels are rendered as hexagons, as a reference to Maximoff's hex abilities and the informal name "The Hex" that is given to the sitcom reality. The pixels form various elements from the series including Maximoff and Vision's house, the baby mobile from the third episode, and the Westview water tower, which is reminiscent of the art style in "House of M". The pixels are then disrupted by a single red pixel that represents Maximoff's "world falling apart around her", before forming two wedding rings at the end of the sequence since the series is "at its core a love story". Charles Pulliam-Moore at "io9" felt the credits were "undeniably Marvel in the big screen sense", despite "WandaVision" otherwise attempting to embrace its streaming series format.


title: WandaVision

text: Perception also created many of the sitcom-style opening credits for the series, with Shakman saying a lot of work went into creating these openings to be as authentic to each era as possible since the creatives "knew that they were a key part of the storytelling". Additional work from Perception included graphics for the fake commercials, based on real commercials from the different sitcom eras; titles and smoke effects for the "Agatha All Along" sequence; onscreen locator cards; and two new transitions for the Marvel Studios logo (into black-and-white and a 4:3 aspect ratio for the first episode, and into purple smoke for Agatha's Salem backstory in "Previously On").


title: WandaVision

text: Filming began in early November 2019, at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, with Shakman directing, and Hall serving as cinematographer. The series was filmed under the working title "Big Red". The actors went through sitcom "boot camp" before filming, watching episodes of past sitcoms to help learn the tone and style of each era, as well as the different approaches to comedy. Dialect coach Courtney Young helped the actors speak like people from each era, even noting the manners of each decade. Bettany felt the approach to the series was clever since it had to make six hours of content on a budget similar to a two-and-a-half-hour MCU film. This included filming content from different episodes at the same time, though Shakman did try to shoot chronologically to aid the actors with the progression through the sitcom eras.


title: WandaVision

text: The first episode filmed for two days in black-and-white and in front of a live studio audience, to mimic sitcom filming in the 1950s. A is also used for the black-and-white scenes, and Shakman enjoyed experimenting with the aspect ratio based on the narrative. Scenes set outside the Hex used the 2.40:1 cinematic ratio of many MCU films. Shakman wanted to ensure that the sitcom elements never felt like a parody and were as authentic as possible, since they were a reality that Maximoff created to escape from her grief and were real to her. Hall used Arri Alexa 4K HDR cameras for the whole series, to create a coherent look for the story, and to make it easier to switch between different sitcom decades without needing to change the camera setup; era-specific touches such as period-appropriate camera lenses, lighting, and live special effects were used to differentiate the period settings. Hall used 47 different camera lenses for the seven time periods covered in "WandaVision", many of which were modern lenses custom modified to keep characteristics of the period lenses. The custom period-appropriate lenses were used on the first three episodes and the fifth, while Hall used the Ultra Panatar lenses that had been used on "Infinity War" and "Endgame" for all of the scenes set outside the Hex reality. Tungsten lights were mainly used for the 1950s to the 1970s episodes since those were the lights of the era, with LED lighting used starting in the 2000s episodes which is when those began to be used for real sitcoms. Shakman used lenses, lighting, and sound design inspired by "The Twilight Zone" to change the mood for moments when something goes wrong with Maximoff's illusion.


title: WandaVision

text: Location shooting took place in the Atlanta metropolitan area throughout December 2019 and February 2020. A filming wrap party for the series occurred on March 1, ahead of a planned four-week hiatus, but all production halted on March 14 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming resumed in Los Angeles in September 2020 with rigorous COVID-19 safety protocols in place, to complete required backlot and outdoor filming. Olsen found it hard resuming production after being isolated during the shutdown, while Bettany disliked that the safety protocols meant the actors had to return to their trailers when not filming, which he felt removed much of the camaraderie between the cast and crew. External filming for Westview took place on Blondie Street at the Warner Bros. Ranch in Burbank, California, where past sitcoms had also been filmed. Shakman felt the Blondie Street backlot had "that weird sense of fakeness" that no real-life street could replicate. Filming for the Westview town square was originally planned for the Universal Studios Lot near Blondie Street, but this could not happen due to scheduling and the pandemic so filming for those scenes instead took place at the Golden Oak Ranch. Production on the series wrapped by mid-November, with Olsen shooting back-to-back with "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness".


title: WandaVision

text: When the production shut down due to the pandemic, Marvel took around a month to figure out the logistics of remote work. Post-production then continued on existing footage, which informed Shakman of how to approach a few things differently once filming began again, though the series was not creatively altered by this. Post-production continued after filming resumed, and Shakman said working on every step of the process at once felt "schizophrenic". Tim Roche, Zene Baker, and Nona Khodai served as editors for the series, and each brought different experience to the project: Baker previously edited "Thor: Ragnarok"; Khodai previously worked on the superhero series "The Boys"; and Roche came from a background editing comedy series with no visual effects. The editors agreed to treat the series like an MCU film since they knew Marvel Studios would not "resort to [standard television series] money-saving tactics for a show like this", and Baker said editing the series was no different from editing "Ragnarok".


title: WandaVision

text: The editors did not have formal meetings to discuss the series' tone, but did work together on issues. Roche felt the series' tone was most interesting when the sitcom and MCU elements were mixed together, such as when Vision discovers anomalies in Westview during "All-New Halloween Spooktacular!" Aspect ratio shifts were created during post-production to give Shakman control over the lengths of the transitions, with some of the earlier aspect ratio changes going through many variations to find the best length and style and have a bigger impression on the audience. Transitions in later episodes are sometimes just a straight cut from one ratio to another, relying more on music and sound to show the change. Some scenes were rearranged to avoid changing between aspect ratios too many times and distracting from the story. One of the most discussed elements of editing was the laugh track, and the creatives worked with sound engineer and laugh track historian Paul Iverson to explain how laugh tracks changed throughout time which informed the sound design. Iverson provided the editing team with a selection of laughter track recordings utilized in sitcoms of the 1950s and through the eras.


title: WandaVision

text: Previsualization company The Third Floor, Inc. added temporary effects to edited sequences as a guide for visual effects vendors. These were also sent to the DI team to finalize the coloring of shots before the visual effects were completed, which Baker said was unusual and done to save time but did not have much of an effect on the production's timeline. The editors all worked on the sitcom opening titles and fake commercials in their episodes, as well as the "previously on "WandaVision"" segments that begin each episode. The latter have some differences from the episodes they are recapping, such as slightly different dialogue, which plays into Maximoff's manipulation of reality. Later episodes were not completed when the early ones began airing, so the editors were able to see fan theories about the series while they were still working on it. This made them question some of their decisions, but there was no time for this to have any creative effect on their work. Editing for the final episode was completed two weeks before it aired.


title: WandaVision

text: Tara DeMarco served as the visual effects supervisor for "WandaVision", with visual effects vendors for the series including Digital Domain, Framestore, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Lola VFX, Monsters Aliens Robots Zombies (MARZ), RISE, Rodeo FX, SSVFX, The Yard VFX, and Zoic Studios. The series has 3,010 visual effects shots, more than the 2,496 in "Avengers: Endgame", though DeMarco noted that the series is longer than "Endgame" and that film had a lot of effects that were much more complex than many of those seen in "WandaVision". The creatives tried to keep the number of visual effects in each episode to a minimum until the 2000s-set episodes where it made sense to allow more prevalent visual effects due to the technology available at the time; each episode has more visual effects shots than the previous one, building up to the "big Marvel finale" in the last episode. For the first three episodes, contemporary visual effects were used to augment on-set practical effects and replicate other period-specific effects.


title: WandaVision

text: DeMarco took inspiration from the "Scarlet Witch: Witches' Road" comic book for the look of Maximoff and Agatha's magic in the series. Maximoff's magic was created based on Olsen's on-set hand movements, with the visual effects team letting her create the movements that she wanted and then adding "something tasteful with her hands that isn't distracting from her performance". The look of her magic initially matches the same red energy that was seen in the films, but becomes a darker, richer red when she starts using chaos magic to signify that it is more powerful. This look was developed with Digital Domain, who primarily worked on the final episode and contributed 350 visual effect shots over 14 months. Framestore, who worked on 99 visual effects shots for the series, developed the look of Agatha's magic, which is a purple version of Maximoff's magic with a black, ink-like texture added to make it appear more evil. Mr. X contributed 152 visual effects shots for the scenes in the final two episodes featuring a coven of witches.