Whittock is a small coastal town with a big problem: almost everyone in it appears to be hiding something. Crave wants viewers to meet them anyway.
In a post promoting the series launch, the Canadian streamer rolled out a character primer for YAGA, inviting audiences to “get to know the characters at the heart of #YAGA before the mystery begins” ahead of the two-episode premiere on October 23.
The rollout is not a single drop. YAGA is an eight-episode, half-hour drama, per Bell Media’s announcement, with two episodes landing October 23 and one new instalment each Friday after that until a two-episode finale on November 27. In the U.S., it debuts the same day exclusively on AMC+.
The cast list is the real hook. Noah Reid, best known as Patrick on Schitt’s Creek, plays Rapp, a private investigator who arrives in Whittock chasing the disappearance of Henry Park (Hudson Williams), a young heir to the town’s dominant fishery. Clark Backo (Letterkenny, Venom: The Last Dance) is local detective Carson, and Carrie-Anne Moss plays Katherine, a university professor with “a taste for younger men.” Sheila McCarthy, Megan Follows, Patrick Gilmore, Katharine Isabelle and Hiro Kanagawa round out the ensemble.
None of this is arriving cold. YAGA had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 17, followed by a New York Comic Con panel on October 9, after a July stop at San Diego Comic Con. The official trailer leaned on Alanis Morissette’s cover of Donovan’s “Season of the Witch,” building on a premise its creators reworked from a stage original.
The series is adapted from Kat Sandler’s play of the same name; Sandler serves as writer, showrunner and executive producer, with David Frazee and Rachel Talalay co-directing. It is produced by Blink49 Studios and Front Street Pictures in association with Bell Media, with financing from the Canada Media Fund, the Rogers Series Fund and the Bell Fund.
Crave is extending the run beyond the screen, too. A companion series, YAGA: The Official Podcast, hosted by Canadian creator Carley Thorne, launches alongside the premiere on Crave, iHeartRadio and major podcast platforms, unpacking each episode with theories and behind-the-scenes material. International buyers are already lined up: Sky in the U.K. and Ireland, HBO Max across Europe, Sky in New Zealand and Binge in Australia.
Whatever Whittock is hiding, viewers get eight Fridays to find out — and until November 27, the story stays open.
