Actors in «Yoga» Mock Mother's Anger, Double Hudson Williams and 'Too Much Chicken'

The Crave/AMC+ series, based on the game by creator and host Kat Sandler, stars Kerri Anne Maas, Noah Reid, Clark Backo and Hudson Williams.

"Everyone should bring their own pens and notebooks," says Yaga star Clark Bako. "Follow."

While it may seem like the actress is describing her homework, she's actually trying to help viewers of her upcoming show. Baco and his co-stars Carrie Ann Moss and Noah Reid are asking fans of their new series to look for clues in the first few episodes. The cast reunited at the Toronto International Film Festival in mid-September, where the series will continue for its world premiere.

AMC's Mayfair Witches: Salem Coven premiered in December starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Kill Jackie's Carrie-Anne Moss and Yaga at New York City.

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This eight-episode mystery thriller is based on a play by series creator Kat Sandler, who also writes and hosts the show. The show's trailer, released late last month, ended with what could have been a tagline: "Women - we're angry about everything."

Yaga reimagines the legend of Baba Yaga set in a seaside town. Reed Rapp, a private investigator, teams up with local detective Carson, played by Bucko, to investigate the disappearance of Henry Park, played by Hudson Williams, Heated Rivalry. Moss leads the cast as Kathryn, a professor with "taste for younger men," according to the series description.

The show is the first half-hour drama from Canadian broadcaster Crave, home of last year's hit TV show Heated Rivalry. Front Street Pictures and Blink49 Studios are producing the series, which will air on AMC+ in the US.

As timely as it is, Yaga tackles female rage in an interesting way, offering, in Sandler's words, "an incendiary feminist anti-hero for our time." Moss, Bucko, and Reed are quick to highlight the writer's ability to start a conversation.

"I love how good Kat is at posing very important human questions," says Beko. He clearly has a strong point of view, but he doesn't answer [the questions]. "That's one of the most important things as a teacher or as a parent or as a lover - to inspire thinking, but not to tell someone how to think."

Reed also notes that Sandler's writing is simply fun. He says of the script, "It's a wonderful movie. A speed is written in it. He writes a lot of words, but there is a rhythm to them, so it doesn't take long.

Maybe it's the playwright's background - Moss would probably agree. "If you could be on set and see how passionate Kat is about it," she says.

"In our industry, I find that some of the top people doing the best work come from theater, which is cool because you can feel that shift happening," Moss says. I've noticed that in the last two things I've done, they've had female playwrights at the helm, and you really feel that.

Yaga Stamford's tone is the genre's but still basic. It's funny, but dark. "These changes are in our daily lives," says Reid.

"What I've loved about the challenge and sometimes the gift of doing it on this show is that we stay a little looser and more prepared," he says. "Yeah, Kat writes like that, [but] we're all in tune."

The series is filmed in Victoria, British Columbia and is set in the small beach town of the show. This experience brought the actors together. "I hope people enjoy our chemistry as a group as a whole. I think we killed it," says Bako.

"In a weird way, we were all good people having a good time, and you don't always realize that," he says. "It's a privilege to be on a set that runs smoothly and has people who don't take themselves too seriously, but take the work seriously enough."

Williams, the last member of the original four cast members, is not with them for this interview. But they note that revealing the actor who will play both Henry and Logan is a secret they've been keeping for a while. This is one of many that they have been tasked with guarding the gate.

"We have to keep a lot of people in this show," Reid says. "It's actually harder to reveal something than to keep it a secret."

While the cast can't say much in terms of plot before the premiere, there are things to watch out for. Viewers will be surprised at how many clues there are in the first two episodes, Baku explains. So get out those notebooks.

Reed also says viewers will be surprised by "the sheer amount of chicken stuff." (This may be a bit confusing for anyone unfamiliar with the legend of Baba Yaga—the character is often described in popular culture as living in a hut on chicken legs.)

"There are a lot of chickens," says Beko. "And many words."

Yaga is set to premiere on AMC+ and Crave on October 23. It airs weekly on Fridays, with a two-part finale set for November 27. See all of The Hollywood Reporter's Yaga coverage here.