We Interrupt This Program: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:37, 9 September 2021

Revision as of 14:44, 9 September 2021

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== Production ==

=== Development ===

By October 2018, [[Marvel Studios]] was developing a limited series starring [[Elizabeth Olsen]]'s [[Wanda Maximoff (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Wanda Maximoff]] and [[Paul Bettany]]'s [[Vision (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Vision]] from [[List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films|the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films]].<ref name="Disney+SeriesSep2018" /><ref name="ScarletWitchVision" /> In August 2019, [[Matt Shakman]] was hired to direct the miniseries.<ref name="Shakman" /><ref name="EmmyDec2020CoverStory" /> Shakman and [[head writer]] [[Jac Schaeffer]] executive produce alongside Marvel Studios' [[Kevin Feige]], [[Louis D'Esposito]], and [[Victoria Alonso]].<ref name="Shakman" /><ref name="ExpandingUniverse" /><ref name="EmmyDec2020FullCoverStory" />{{rp|50}} Feige described the series as part [[sitcom]], part "Marvel epic".<ref name="D232019" /> The fourth episode, titled "We Interrupt This Program", was written by Bobak Esfarjani and [[Megan McDonnell]], and shifts the series' perspective to outside the sitcom reality of the previous episodes.<ref name="Writers" /><ref name="EWRecap" /> Schaeffer originally pitched the episode as being similar to an episode of ''[[CSI: Crime Scene Investigation]]'' in order to shift the series to a new genre after taking influence from sitcoms for the first three episodes.<ref name="SchaefferNYTimes" /> "We Interrupt This Program" was released on [[Disney+]] on January 29, 2021.<ref name="ReleaseDate" />

=== Writing ===

[[File:Teyonah Parris (48468994196) (ht).jpg|thumb|upright|The episode switches the series' perspective from the previous three episodes, instead starring [[Teyonah Parris]] as [[Monica Rambeau (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Monica Rambeau]] outside the sitcom reality.<ref name="SchaefferMarvel104" />]]

After the release of the series' first three episodes, Schaeffer acknowledged that they would need to provide answers to those episodes' mysteries soon.<ref name="SchaefferWrapJan2021" /> Olsen said the fourth episode would be "quite a shift. It's a really fun perspective swap and I think a lot gets understood at that moment."<ref name="OlsenDSJan2021" /> Schaeffer had found the central idea of Maximoff being responsible for the series' sitcom reality to be a simple concept, and felt it would be satisfying to fans to introduce it as a mystery first before explaining the story from the perspective of [[Monica Rambeau (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Monica Rambeau]] and [[S.W.O.R.D. (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|S.W.O.R.D.]] in the fourth episode. She noted that this turned the episode into an "enormous info dump" for the audience, but hoped that all the answers would help viewers see the rest of the series as an "emotional and a psychological journey, rather than a sneaky mystery the whole way".<ref name="SchaefferMarvel104" />

Because of the large amount of information that needs to be conveyed in the episode, Esfarjani had only a small amount of time to introduce Rambeau as an empathetic character. The writers discussed starting the episode with a more traditional character introduction sequence such as having Rambeau working out, training, or spending time with a dog, but they felt this lacked emotion. When the idea of her returning to life following [[the Blip]], due to the events of ''[[Avengers: Endgame]]'' (2019), was suggested, Esfarjani felt it placed her in the most empathetic moment from the MCU and sped up the process of the audience becoming attached to Rambeau as a protagonist while also quickly clarifying where the series is set on the MCU timeline.<ref name="WritersZoom" />{{rp|15:30–17:46}} Schaeffer added that the sequence sets the tone for the rest of the episode while also digging into Rambeau's character by setting her up on a "rough road". As part of the latter point, the writers decided to reveal that Rambeau's mother [[Maria Rambeau|Maria]] has died during the time that Rambeau had disappeared. Schaeffer said this was a tough decision since she has strong feelings about Maria and her relationship with her daughter from their earlier appearances in the film ''[[Captain Marvel (film)|Captain Marvel]]'' (2019). After many conversations about how to portray people returning from the Blip, the writers and producers decided to set the sequence in a hospital as an interesting place to depict the scariness and confusion of the event from Rambeau's perspective.<ref name="SchaefferMariaCB" /> This is different from the portrayal of the Blip in ''[[Spider-Man: Far From Home]]'' (2019), which has a more comedic tone, and Schaeffer explained that Marvel Studios was happy for the series' tone to be different as long as the visuals matched with those seen in ''Far From Home''.<ref name="Schaeffer/Film" />

For S.W.O.R.D. and their base outside Westview, Schaeffer was influenced by the film ''[[Arrival (film)|Arrival]]'' (2016). She was also inspired by series with structural shifts for moving this episode away from sitcom homages to provide answers and a different perspective;<ref name="Schaeffer/Film" /> examples of these influential series and episodes include ''[[Russian Doll (TV series)|Russian Doll]]'' and its fourth episode "Alan's Routine", the sixth episode of ''[[Escape at Dannemora]]'', the ''[[Girls (TV series)|Girls]]'' episode "The Panic at Central Park", and ''[[Lost (TV series)|Lost]]''.<ref name="Schaeffer/Film" /><ref name="SchaefferColliderFeb2021" /> Rambeau, [[Jimmy Woo (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Jimmy Woo]], and [[Darcy Lewis]] represent the series' viewers since they are watching the fictional ''WandaVision'' sitcom and have similar questions to those asked by viewers of the series' first three episodes.<ref name="Park/Film" /> Schaeffer described Woo and Lewis as "helper characters" with supporting roles in the MCU films and expressed excitement at getting to spend more time with them in this episode than was done in the films.<ref name="SchaefferColliderFeb2021" /> Schaeffer's initial ideas for the series included the idea that Maximoff's abilities create [[cosmic microwave background]] radiation (CMBR), since in the real world that is radiation from the creation of the universe that is visible in television static. McDonnell did further research on CMBR for the episode.<ref name="WritersZoom" />{{rp|12:46–14:00}}