Despite Hudson Williams, Canadian Witch Mystery ‘Yaga’ Is No ‘Heated Rivalry’: TV Review

The witchy thriller “Yaga” is a Canadian production that co-stars Hudson Williams, now hot enough off of “Heated Rivalry” to earn a “with” before his name in the credits. That’s about where the similarities with the hockey-themed megahit end, though not for lack of trying: “Yaga” — which airs on streaming service AMC+ in the States […] The AMC+ witch mystery 'Yaga' may star Hudson Williams alongside Carrie Ann Moss, but the Canadian thriller is no 'Heated Rivalry'. The witchy thriller “Yaga” is a Canadian production that co-stars Hudson Williams, now hot enough off of “Heated Rivalry” to earn a “with” before his name in the credits.

That’s about where the similarities with the hockey-themed megahit end, though not for lack of trying: “Yaga” — which airs on streaming service AMC+ in the States — painfully strains for the eroticism and insight into sexuality that came so easily to “Heated Rivalry,” resulting in an eight-episode season that’s often cringe without ascending into camp. But other blunders are all “Yaga”’s own. Choppy pacing, poor casting and facile feminism all combine to make “Yaga” a misfire, one viewers in search of seasonal scares should overlook in favor of alternatives. Adapted by creator Kat Sandler from her