WandaVision: Marvel Studios Is Reinventing Event Programming

The first three episodes of WandaVision have arrived, and Marvel Studios can officially say it’s now a producer of long-form, serialized storytelling. Not only that, but one could probably argue the Kevin Feige-led outfit is uprooting anything we thought we knew about event programming. It’s something most probably expected with the first-ever series released by Marvel Studios, but now it’s actually coming to fruition.

We’re at the height of television — a renaissance where this Golden Age of Television has afforded us one critically-acclaimed series after another. In a world full of Games of Thrones, Westworld, Stranger Things, and the like — WandaVision still manages to stand on a level of its own in the true event television sphere.

A major part of that, naturally, is going from a “binge” schedule back to a traditional weekly release schedule, allowing fans to speculate and chat about the content they’ve consumed each week prior to a new episode coming out. What WandaVision has that the others don’t — at least as of now — is the Marvel Studios brand and an intense shroud of mystery that’s nearly impossible to crack.

Make no mistake about it, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the biggest franchise Hollywood will likely ever see, having grossed nearly $23 billion through 23 movies. In fact, it’s practically guaranteed the studio will crack $25 billion at the worldwide box office should its current theatrical release schedule.

Even though WandaVision was born with a silver spoon in its mouth, the content within has also helped to redefine how the masses consume event programming. Take The Mandalorian as an example, even though the series had an incredibly cinematic approach, it wasn’t necessarily discussed throughout the entire week. With WandaVision, however, Marvel Studios has crafted the perfect mystery that fans can work on cracking throughout the week with speculation and theorization.

And Marvel Studios knows it too — that’s why the studio is going to take more risks as it moves into its “Phase Four” and beyond. The studio itself has built a brand with some of the most loyal fans in the universe, and it can afford to release something like WandaVision — a series that has just a fraction of the plot progression most other television series have at this point in their lifetime.

Marvel Studios is building a new way to experience event television.

The first three episodes of WandaVision are now streaming on Disney+. If you haven’t signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

Who do you think the big bad for the series will end up being? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things MCU!

Note: If you purchase one of the awesome, independently chosen products featured here, we may earn a small commission from the retailer. Thank you for your support.