Wednesday is one of the latest series from the streaming giant Netflix. Alfred Gough and Miles Millar are the showrunners while legendary film director Tim Burton produces and even directs some of the episodes. Wednesday revolves around Wednesday Addams going to the boarding school, Nevermore, for the ‘outcasts’. These are the people with special abilities or who are werewolves, vampires, gorgons or sirens. After a hitchhiker’s body is found, a murder mystery begins and Wednesday finds herself at the centre of it. Thankfully, she’s not alone as a certain re-animated hand gives her a… hand.
Starring as the titular character is an actress who’s quickly making a name for herself in the horror genre. After appearing in two successful horror movies this year (Scream and X) Jenna Ortega makes the jump to long-form television. Portraying the titular character is no easy feat considering the past people to play the role. However, Jenna is more than up to the challenge and ready to silence any naysayers.
She puts her own spin on the character while giving us the character we’ve come to love over the years. Her delivery of witty one-liners leaves you rolling with laughter. Meanwhile, her quieter moments provide an introspective to Wednesday we’ve never seen before. As someone who loves Christina Ricci’s performance, Jenna is definitely up there with her portrayal. In fact, she’s possibly my favorite version of the character. I can’t wait to see where she goes next.
Joining her are Gwendoline Christie, Emma Myers, Luiz Guzmán, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Riki Lindhome, Jamie McShane, Hunter Doohan, Percy Hynes White and Joy Sunday. Most of these actors you’ll meet in the town of Jericho as well as the boarding academy, Nevermore. However, Luiz and Catherine are portraying two very familiar characters – Gomez and Morticia Addams. They’re great in their roles and you’ll only want to see more of them.
The cast is fantastic and there isn’t a single weak link within them. I want to give a special shout-out to Emma Myers who plays Enid who’s basically the complete opposite of Wednesday. Even though Enid is mostly an over-the-top, larger-than-life, type of person, Emma beautifully conveys the deeper hurt within the girl. There’s more to unpack for Enid. This is the same for most of the colourful characters in the show. I only wish I had the time to talk about all of them.
Before I move on from the cast, there’s one more person to talk about. This one’s a legacy casting and her name is already mentioned above. Christina Ricci (yes THAT Christina Ricci) is in the series playing a teacher at Nevermore. There are a few scenes where it’s only her and Jenna. In the second episode, there’s a scene that feels like the only person who could deliver it is someone who’s also been Wednesday. I couldn’t stop smiling seeing her back in this universe.
The show itself has its ups and downs. However, when it goes up, it reaches high. Even its lowest moments still find a way to sparkle. This is a show I’m sure I’ll find myself re-watching to see where the clues were leading up to the revelations of the final episodes. It runs for eight episodes and the longest episode is an hour long. Meanwhile, the shortest is around 45 minutes. Compared to other streaming shows, it’s closer to how television lengths used to be. You may want to watch it over several days but the cliffhangers are going to push you to keep going.
My biggest disappointment with the series was the finale. Not because it was bad but rather because it was the end… for now. We know the series will return after breaking records (including one held by Stranger Things season 4). Unfortunately, we don’t know when. Nor do we know what the next series will entail or who we’ll see. My hope is to see more of the Addams Family and their mansion.
By now, even if you haven’t seen the show, you’re probably aware of Wednesday’s amazing dance. As the series progresses we see more staples of the Addams Family. This includes sword fights, characters jumping out on others and a very familiar double snap. Oh, and you’ll need to wait for it but wait until you meet Fred Armisen’s electrifying Uncle Fester. He definitely had fun with that role.
Wednesday is now streaming on Netflix. If you’re looking for something spooky, funny, sad and kooky to watch this holiday season, you can’t go wrong with Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams.
