If you loved Heated Rivalry, you absolutely must not miss Yaga for any reason. But beware: aside from the presence of Hudson Williams and the pronounced erotic element of the tale, brace yourself for a story that will entangle you in something utterly different. The tone has been chosen with care, because this new horror/supernatural series — arriving on HBO Max on October 23, concurrently with Canada’s Crave — dives into a dark mystery tainted by the myth of Baba Yaga, the legendary creature of Slavic folklore who mirrors a witch. In short, it is the perfect story for the spookiest season of the year: Halloween. Below you can watch the official trailer.
Yaga: The Plot and Themes of the New TV Series
Set to the accompaniment of Alanis Morissette’s cover of Donovan’s Season of the Witch, the trailer introduces the tale of Henry Park, the character played by Williams, the young heir to a wealthy and powerful fishing company who disappears in Whittock, a fictional Canadian coastal town. Enter Charlie Rapp (Noah Reid, Schitt’s Creek), a private investigator hired by the family to solve the mystery. Soon, the man finds himself facing a wary local detective, Carson (Clark Backo, Letterkenny); a charismatic university professor with a fondness for younger men, Katherine (Carrie-Anne Moss, Matrix); and a labyrinth of enigmatic suspects, secret lives, and ancient magic.
Reid has explained that the series contains “a lot of sexual content” and that sex functions as a kind of language within the story and as part of the journey toward uncovering the characters’ secrets. Female sexuality plays a particularly significant role. According to Backo, in her portrayal of women, Yaga does not neglect older women, portraying them as sexually active and desirous subjects. There is also a dynamic between people of different ages: Katherine, played by Moss, has relationships with younger men. Including Henry (and/or his twin brother Logan). “I had the chance to kiss him, which is fantastic,” the actress said of Williams, who is rising to fame thanks to Heated Rivalry. “He was extremely respectful. He respected my personal space a lot. He’s a true gentleman.”
The eroticism is directly linked to the Baba Yaga myth: for creator Kat Sandler, desire, sex, power, and sexual freedom are part of how the series reimagines the mythic figure. So this isn’t simply a mystery series with some erotic scenes tacked on. “There are versions of her all around the world,” Katherine says in the series. “Sometimes she’s an old, ugly witch who lives in a hut on chicken legs and vanishes into the void. Sometimes she’s a wise woman, a sorceress, a healer. Sometimes she helps a hero on his quest. Sometimes she tests him. Sometimes she kills him. Sometimes she eats him. Sometimes she beds with him. But she always has a name: Baba Yaga.”
Comments