Quick summary
- Yaga creator Kat Sandler says Hudson Williams’ casting brought “so many eyes” to the supernatural thriller.
- She told Hindustan Times that the attention gave the series a platform to discuss women’s issues.
- Yaga premiered on Crave on 23 October and reaches India on Lionsgate Play on 6 November.
- Williams plays a young man whose disappearance sets the plot in motion.
The Hudson Williams Yaga casting has done more than add a famous name to a poster, according to the show’s creator. Kat Sandler told Hindustan Times that Hudson Williams, the star of Heated Rivalry, pulled a much larger audience towards a series built around women’s stories. The interview ran ahead of the show’s India launch.
What is Yaga about?
Yaga is a supernatural thriller adapted from Sandler’s own play, which retells the Slavic legend of Baba Yaga, the figure said to eat children’s bones. The story is set in a small town where two detectives try to work out why a young man has vanished, according to Hindustan Times.
Williams plays that missing man. The series stars Carrie-Anne Moss, Noah Reid and Clark Backo alongside him.
So how much did one casting change things?
Hudson Williams Yaga casting: what Sandler said
Sandler says Williams signed on at the point when it was becoming clear that Heated Rivalry, and he himself, were about to be very big. “Hudson signed on right when it was starting to become clear that Heated Rivalry and Hudson were going to be so huge,” she told the outlet.
The effect showed up in the original material too. Sandler said many more people have read the play since the teaser appeared, and Hindustan Times notes reports that stagings of the play sold out after Williams was announced. She says she is “thrilled” he joined, because the extra attention meant the team had a platform to discuss bigger women’s issues.
That is a notable claim for a thriller adapted from a stage play, and it comes from the person with the most to gain from saying it.
A star who sends the focus back to the story
Sandler also described how Williams handled his rising profile on set. She says he never overshadowed the narrative and “is so good at redirecting the story back to women”. She called the relationship between star and series “symbiotic”, adding that he would not have gone to TIFF if Yaga had not been accepted there.
On his behaviour, she was blunt. “He’s never been a diva even once,” she said, adding that he made the show “sexier, bolder, and weirder”. These are the creator’s views, offered in a promotional interview, so they read as praise rather than independent assessment.
For more on the actor’s recent work, see our Hudson Williams coverage and our earlier piece on Hudson Williams and The Assembly.
What happens next
Yaga arrived on Crave on 23 October. In India it begins streaming on Lionsgate Play on 6 November, per Hindustan Times. The source does not give an Australian release date, so check local streaming listings before planning a watch. More series news is on our TV & Dramas page.
Frequently asked questions
Who plays the missing man in Yaga?
Hudson Williams plays the young man whose disappearance the two detectives investigate, according to Hindustan Times.
When did Yaga premiere?
Yaga premiered on Crave on 23 October, and it arrives in India on Lionsgate Play on 6 November.
Who else stars in Yaga?
Carrie-Anne Moss, Noah Reid and Clark Backo appear in lead roles alongside Hudson Williams.
What is Yaga based on?
It is a TV version of Kat Sandler’s play, a retelling of the Baba Yaga legend from Slavic folklore.
