Current ‘It Girl’ Jenna Ortega has seemingly landed another hit with Wednesday: the latest imagining of the Addams Family. The X star was announced to play an updated version of daughter Wednesday Addams in May 2021, being the third actress to play the character in a live adaptation of cartoonist Charles Addams’ creation. Ortega would be following in some beloved footsteps, as actor Christina Ricci is the most iconic and favoured portrayal of the character in the 1990s feature adaptations, The Addams Family and Addams Family Values.
The apex director of Gothic media, Tim Burton, leads Netflix’s latest family revival. It follows Wednesday’s enrollment in Nevermore Academy following a grizzly incident at her last high school. Catherine Zeta-Jones takes the role of matriarch Morticia, and Luis Guzmán plays her devoted husband, Gomez. These two are the modern replacement for Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia, who had untouchable chemistry and energy as Mr and Mrs Addams. Isaac Ordonez plays Wednesday’s sibling Pugsley.
The new addition of characters involves Wednesday’s classmates, played by Emma Myers, Percy Hynes White, and Joy Sunday. OG star Ricci also makes a fun cameo appearance as a botany teacher at the academy.
Though critics have not necessarily been glowing in their reviews, the series has still managed to pull in a “fresh” 71% approval rating. Audiences stand at 86%, a vast improvement over the 66% and 63% the two 90s films earned. Other series, including two animated films recently, have been released, but Wednesday has surpassed them all, and a second season should be on the horizon.
Social media sites such as Twitter and TikTok have expressed an immediate love for the series. One tweet praised Wednesday‘s dark academia and gothic elements as blended alongside a contemporary presentation. Several videos on TikTok show Wednesday’s dancing skills, which Ortega choreographed after watching footage of gothic nightclubs in the 1980s. Also, fans immediately made it clear they would boycott Netflix if Ortega’s darkly sarcastic sleuth isn’t brought back to fulfil the season’s cliffhanger.
Luckily for fans, it has been confirmed that a second season to Wednesday is being planned, alongside a spin-off or two. Burton as a director familiar with the style and content, and Ortega’s performance as the stoic and unorthodox Wednesday has hit it right with audiences.
Wednesday is now available to stream on Netflix.
