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Best Thanksgiving Movies of All Time, Ranked

2018’s ‘The Oath’. Photo: Roadside Attractions.

Everyone has a favorite Christmas movie, right? Whether it’s ‘A Christmas Story,’ ‘Elf’ or even ‘Die Hard,’ Christmas movies play ad nauseam on television throughout the month of December.
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But where are all the Thanksgiving Day films?

In honor of the annual holiday, Moviefone is counting down the top twenty Thanksgiving Day themed movies of all time!

Now, to qualify for this list the film must either take place at Thanksgiving or involve the holiday in some way, and we are only counting theatrical releases, so sorry ‘A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.’

Let’s begin!

Related Article: Every Halloween Movie, Ranked From Terrible to Terrifying

20) ‘The Blind Side ‘ (1997)

2009’s ‘The Blind Side’. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.

The story of Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman (Sandra Bullock) and her family.
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19) ‘Pilgrim‘ (2019)

In an attempt to remind her family of their privilege and help them bond, Ms. Anna Barker (Courtney Henggeler) invites Pilgrim reenactors to stay with them over Thanksgiving. When the “actors” refuse to break character, the Barker family learns that there is such a thing as too much gratitude.
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18) ‘Black Friday‘ (2021)

A group of toy store employees must protect each other from a horde of parasite infected shoppers.
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17) ‘The Thanksgiving Movie‘ (2020)

Join Butterball the turkey and Missy the Dodo as they come to the rescue of Thanksgiving and embark on an unforgettable, clock-racing countdown to a holiday dinner. It’s a Thanksgiving Movie for the ages.
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16) ‘Sweet November‘ (2001)

Nelson (Keanu Reeves)is a man devoted to his advertising career in San Francisco. One day, while taking a driving test at the DMV, he meets Sara (Charlize Theron). She is very different from the other women in his life. Nelson causes her to miss out on taking the test and later that day she tracks him down. One thing leads to another and Nelson ends up living with her through a November that will change his life forever.
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15) ‘Scent of a Woman‘ (1992)

1992’s ‘Scent of a Woman’. Photo: Universal Pictures.

Charlie Simms (Chris O’Donnell) is a student at a private preparatory school who comes from a poor family. To earn the money for his flight home to Gresham, Oregon for Christmas, Charlie takes a job over Thanksgiving looking after retired U.S. Army officer Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade (Al Pacino), a cantankerous middle-aged man who lives with his niece and her family.
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14) ‘Son in Law‘ (1993)

Country girl Rebecca (Carla Gugino) has spent most of her life on a farm in South Dakota, and, when she goes away to college in Los Angeles, Rebecca immediately feels out of place in the daunting urban setting. She is befriended by a savvy party animal named Crawl (Pauley Shore), who convinces the ambivalent Rebecca to stay in the city. When Thanksgiving break rolls around, Rebecca, no longer an innocent farm girl, invites Crawl back to South Dakota, where he pretends to be her fiancé.
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13) ‘Prisoners‘ (2013)

Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) faces a parent’s worst nightmare when his 6-year-old daughter, Anna, and her friend go missing. The only lead is an old motorhome that had been parked on their street. The head of the investigation, Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), arrests the driver, but a lack of evidence forces Loki to release his only suspect. Dover, knowing that his daughter’s life is at stake, decides that he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands.
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12) ‘The Wiz‘ (1978)

Dorothy Gale (Diana Ross), a shy kindergarten teacher, is swept away to the magic land of Oz where she embarks on a quest to return home.
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11) ‘Pieces of April‘ (2003)

Quirky and rebellious April Burns (Katie Holmes) lives with her boyfriend (Derek Luke) in a low-rent New York City apartment miles away from her emotionally distant family. But when she discovers that her mother (Patricia Clarkson) has a fatal form of breast cancer, she invites the clan to her place for Thanksgiving. While her father (Oliver Platt) struggles to drive her family into the city, April — an inexperienced cook — runs into kitchen trouble and must ask a neighbor for help.
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10) ‘Home for the Holidays‘ (1995)

1995’s ‘Home for the Holidays’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

After losing her job, making out with her soon-to-be former boss, and finding out that her daughter plans to spend Thanksgiving with her boyfriend, Claudia Larson (Holly Hunter) faces spending the holiday with her unhinged family.
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9) ‘The Ice Storm‘ (1997)

In the weekend after thanksgiving 1973 the Hood family is skidding out of control. Then an ice storm hits, the worst in a century.
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8) ‘Addams Family Values‘ (1993)

Siblings Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and Pugsley Addams (Jimmy Workman) will stop at nothing to get rid of Pubert, the new baby boy adored by parents Gomez (Raul Julia) and Morticia (Anjelica Huston). Things go from bad to worse when the new “black widow” nanny, Debbie Jellinsky (Joan Cusack), launches her plan to add Fester to her collection of dead husbands.
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7) ‘Grumpy Old Men‘ (1993)

For decades, next-door neighbors and former friends John (Jack Lemmon) and Max (Walter Matthau) have feuded, trading insults and wicked pranks. When an attractive widow (Ann-Margret) moves in nearby, their bad blood erupts into a high-stakes rivalry full of naughty jokes and adolescent hijinks.
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6) ‘Tower Heist‘ (2011)

A luxury condo manager leads a staff of workers to seek payback on the Wall Street swindler who defrauded them. With only days until the billionaire gets away with the perfect crime, the unlikely crew of amateur thieves enlists the help of petty crook Slide to steal the $20 million they’re sure is hidden in the penthouse.
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5) ‘Thanksgiving‘ (2023)

‘Thanksgiving’ Parade from TriStar Pictures and Spyglass Media Group, LLC Thanksgiving.

After a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts – the birthplace of the holiday. Picking off residents one by one, what begins as random revenge killings are soon revealed to be part of a larger, sinister holiday plan.
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4) ‘Free Birds‘ (2013)

Two turkeys from opposite sides of the tracks must put aside their differences and team up to travel back in time to change the course of history—and get turkey off the holiday menu for good.
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3) ‘The Oath‘ (2018)

In a politically-divided United States, a man struggles to make it through the Thanksgiving holiday without destroying his family.
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2) ‘The Last Waltz‘ (1978)

Martin Scorsese‘s documentary intertwines footage from “The Band’s” incredible farewell tour with probing backstage interviews and featured performances by Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, and other rock legends.

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1) ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles‘ (1987)

1987’s ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

An irritable marketing executive, Neal Page (Steve Martin), is heading home to Chicago for Thanksgiving when a number of delays force him to travel with a well meaning but overbearing shower curtain ring salesman, Del Griffith (John Candy).
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November 25, 2025
‘Guns Up’ Exclusive Interview: Luis Guzman
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Out now in theaters is ‘Guns Up,’ directed by Edward Drake and starring Kevin James, Christina Ricci, Luis Guzman, Timothy V. Murphy, Francis Cronin, and Melissa Leo.

In ‘Guns Up,’ Luis Guzman plays Ignatius, the right hand man of a mob boss and friend to Ray Hayes (Kevin James), a former cop who works as an enforcer for the organization and is looking to get out.

Guzman’s ability to move effortlessly from the serious to the comedic has landed him roles in dozens of films and TV shows, and he’s worked with directors like Steven Soderbergh and Paul Thomas Anderson multiple times. In addition to ‘Guns Up’ and the recent thriller ‘Havoc,’ Guzman will return this fall in Season 2 of the blockbuster Netflix series ‘Wednesday’ as Gomez, patriarch of the Addams family and father to the title character (Jenna Ortega).

Related Article: Jenna Ortega Looks Suitably Spooky in the First Image from ‘Wednesday’ Season 2

(Left) Luis Guzmán in ‘Guns Up’. Photo: Vertical.

Moviefone had the pleasure of speaking exclusively with this versatile actor about getting the role in ‘Guns Up,’ working with Kevin James and Christina Ricci, and what we can expect next from ‘Wednesday.’

You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.

(L to R) Kevin James, Christina Ricci and Luis Guzmán in ‘Guns Up’. Photo: Vertical.

Moviefone: Let’s start with ‘Guns Up.’ What struck you about this script and character?

Luis Guzmán: Well, it was funny. They called me on a Monday. They offered me the part on Monday and they said, “Can you fly in tomorrow to start shooting Wednesday?” I go, “Okay, guys, maybe it’d be a good idea that I read the script because you offered me the part. I have not read the script.” So I got the script later that day. I read it that night. I thought it was really cool and different. I liked the whole genre of action/comedy and the fact that I was going to have an opportunity to work with Kevin James and Christina Ricci and to do a scene with Melissa Leo. I was like, “Oh, wow, this is great.” But it also a lot also had to do with the writer/director, Edward Drake. I just dug his vibe, his flow. That got me really interested. I dug the character because initially in the beginning, there’s a mystery to this guy. Is he a bad guy? Because he seems like a bad guy. But as the movie progresses it’s like, oh, okay, it’s shifting. It’s shifting…So yeah, that kind of drew me in.

MF: Ignatius seems like he’s there to facilitate whoever’s in charge at the moment, but at the same time it feels like he’s also got the big picture in mind.

LG: Absolutely. So like I said, for me in that sense, it was quite fun. It was a good shoot. It was a really good crew of people, considering all the action that was going on, the shooting and all that stuff. Nobody got hurt. We had great, great stunt coordinators on the show who kept everybody safe. For me that made it really cool. I just really dug how organic it was because I don’t like to be predictable, and this film, again, just gave me the opportunity to just do my thing and have fun.

Kevin James in ‘Guns Up’. Photo: Vertical.

MF: Kevin is mainly known for comedy. Is it interesting to play opposite a guy like him and watch him do something that he’s not known for, and also to play off that yourself and see how he’s trying to stretch himself?

LG: See, I never think about those things because then again, for me, it becomes a little predictable. I, personally, like to be organic. Even though I know Kevin is maybe a comedic actor, I’m not thinking about him as a comedic actor. I’m thinking about him in that moment, in that role, and what’s going on, what’s happening, what are we doing?

MF: What’s the first thing you do when you get to set on the first day? How do you prepare?

LG: I just show up. For me, always, the first day is the hardest day because you are just trying to find the vibe. Because again, I always find that on my first day, I’m discovering things. Once I start working and whoever else I’m working with, and I get the flow back from them, then that really triggers me into what I’m going to do, how I’m going to approach all this stuff. So that’s how basically it works for me.

(L to R) Christina Ricci and Kevin James in ‘Guns Up’. Photo: Vertical.

MF: Any particular days on this shoot that you remember as being especially challenging, or when something funny and unexpected happened?

LG: Well, my first night of shooting actually, we shot underneath the Bayonne Bridge. We’re on the water, and it’s night, and [it was] just beautiful. You saw the Manhattan skyline in the background and it was just a beautiful shot. You appreciate that because there’s a certain artistry to that. Also, it was dark. I’m making this whole speech to all these bad guys, wannabes, and stuff like that, and I’m owning it. I’m owning that moment. But like I said, it was just such a beautiful setting.

MF: You are an actor who is constantly working. Is it a satisfying feeling for you to have such a long career and be as busy as you are?

LG: Oh, man, it is 100% satisfying. It kind of blows me away because I always tell my friends and family, it’s nice to be wanted, but it’s also the fact that I have established myself and I get phone calls to do this and to do that. I mean, Jesus Christ, man, just for me right now, I’m just playing this iconic role of Gomez on ‘Wednesday.’ The great John Astin did it, the wonderful Raul Julia did it. Here I am doing it. I’m just honored and blown away. Listen, I’ve been doing this for a long time. I pinch myself every day. I’m like, wow. So again, it’s nice to be wanted but, and I’ve said this many times, I’ll say it again. I guess the biggest asset that I have about myself is being humble, and that’s why I keep getting called back to do stuff. I show up not only to be an artist, but to complement other artists, whether they’re a director, actors, producers, makeup, hair, wardrobe. It’s all a beautiful artistic collaboration and I’m just honored to be a part of all that.

Luis Guzmán on the set of ‘Wednesday’ season 1. Photo: Netflix.

MF: You and Christina didn’t get to interact on Season 1 of ‘Wednesday,’ but was it fun to work with her on ‘Guns Up’ and also maybe talk about that connection?

LG: Well, it was great working with her on ‘Guns Up.’ I think we just mentioned [‘Wednesday’] on the first day. But I got to tell you, man, Christina was so laser-focused on this. I love her character. I love the reveal of her character. She was really spot on, 100% committed to what she was doing. So for me, again, it was fun working with her.

MF: You mentioned John Astin and Raul Julia playing the part of Gomez. What do you do to make the role your own?

LG: Well, my approach is quite simple. I am a loving husband, a loving father. I love my family. Being an outcast is something that I’m proud of. I use the word organic a lot, but that’s how I approach it. Listen, you get to work with Jenna Ortega, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Isaac Ordenez who plays my son, and we really click so well together. It’s a beautiful family. So for me, like I said, because you see how Raul and Anjelica Huston did their roles, you saw how John Astin did his role, and it’s just a continuation of love.

(L to R) Luis Guzmán and Isaac Ordonez in season 1 of ‘Wednesday’. Photo: Netflix.

MF: What can we expect in Season 2 of ‘Wednesday’?

LG: They blew the lid off it. The first season was pretty spectacular. I told the writers, “How are you guys going to outdo this?” Believe me, they went beyond it. I was blown away. Audiences are going to be so, so happy to see the show come back. Tim Burton, Alfred Gough and Miles Millar and their team of writers really outdid themselves. Just the best cast, the best crew. It’s a real collaboration of artists and it’s beautiful.

MF: Finally, you’ve worked multiple times with great directors — Steven Soderbergh, Paul Thomas Anderson, Brian De Palma. Do you see a similarity between the way they work or the vision that they have, and do you see that in some of the newer directors that you work with these days?

LG: I think they’re all different because they approach their artistry differently. All their visions are different. What they have in common is that they’re all artists, but they all do their thing differently and the outcome is wonderful.
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What is the plot of ‘Guns Up’?

When a job goes horribly wrong, an ex-cop and family man who moonlights as a mob henchman has one night to get his family out of the city.

Who is in the cast of ‘Guns Up’?
- Kevin James as Ray Hayes
- Christina Ricci as Alice Hayes
- Luis Guzmán as Ignatius Locke
- Melissa Leo as Michael Temple
- Timothy V. Murphy as Lonny Castigan
- Joey Diaz as Charlie Brooks
- Francis Cronin as Danny Clogan
- Leo Easton Kelly as Henry Hayes
- Keana Marie as Siohbán Hayes
- Maximilian Osinski as Antonio Castigan
Luis Guzmán in season 1 of ‘Wednesday’. Photo: Netflix.

List of Luis Guzman Movies and TV Shows
- ‘Carlito’s Way’ (1993)
- ‘Boogie Nights’ (1997)
- ‘Out of Sight’ (1998)
- ‘Oz’ (1998)
- ‘The Limey’ (1999)
- ‘Magnolia’ (1999)
- ‘Traffic’ (2000)
- ‘The Taking of Pelham 123’ (2009)
- ‘Journey 2: The Mysterious Island’ (2012)
- ‘Narcos’ (2015)
- ‘Shameless’ (2019)
- ‘Wednesday’ (2022)
- ‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’ (2024)
- ‘Havoc’ (2025)
- ‘Guns Up’ (2025)
Buy Tickets: ‘Guns Up’ Movie Showtimes

Buy Luis Guzman Movies on Amazon
July 17, 2025
Netflix Renews ‘Wednesday’ for Season 2

Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams in ‘Wednesday.’ Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2022.

‘Wednesday’ is currently still notching a healthy viewership for Netflix.

There was much concern earlier this week when UK newspaper The Independent reported that Netflix might end up losing ‘Wednesday’ to Amazon because of the company’s giant deal to buy MGM.

That gives Prime Video streaming service the rights to show pretty much everything that MGM has produced, and since that includes Addams Family content (the recent animated movies, for example were produced by MGM), it was speculated that ‘Wednesday’ could follow.

But, as Indiewire is now pointing out, the deal for ‘Wednesday’ was struck some time before the sale of MGM was approved, so it’s more than likely that Netflix will be holding on to the show for the foreseeable future, especially since it continues to be one of its most-watched series.

Plus, there’s a mention that Amazon has been willing to explore hosting content that isn’t exclusive to Prime Video, which means that ‘Wednesday’ could continue to find a home on Netflix’s servers for years to come, even if it does one day pack its dark-colored bags and make the move to Prime in later years.

(L to R) Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams, and Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams in ‘Wednesday.’ Photo: Vlad Cioplea/Netflix © 2022.

The series, which stars Jenna Ortega as the daughter of Gomez (Luis Guzman) and Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones), sees Wednesday headed to Nevermore Academy after being expelled from more regular schools because of her behavior.

There, despite still feeling like an outsider, she’s actually able to make connections with fellow students (on both the friendship and unlikely romantic front), while also confronting a supernatural mystery and her own burgeoning psychic powers.

‘Wednesday’s cast also includes Gwendoline Christie, Riki Lindhome, Emma Myers, Hunter Doohan, Percy Hynes White and Moosa Mostafa, and the show debuted on Netflix on November 23rd.

It has since become a huge hit for the streaming service, its second week drawing 5.3 billion views and topping the Nielsen US streaming chart. It has also generated plenty of viral content, especially Tik Toks recreating the character’s dance moves.

Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams in ‘Wednesday.’ Photo: Vlad Cioplea/Netflix © 2022.

While Netflix has yet to renew the show, there are reports that creators/show-runners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar are already scouting locations, with plans in place for Season 2. And it’s not like the streaming service has a history of cancelling popular series it talks up and then abandons. Though the creators of ‘1899’ might have something to say about that. And ‘The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself’. And ‘Warrior Nun’. And…

Look, while Netflix has been winning few friends among creators for clearing the decks of shows it considers unsuccessful despite big fan campaigns to save them, ‘Wednesday’ is in a whole other league. It’s a genuine sensation, up there with the likes of ‘Stranger Things’ for the company. So don’t go worrying that Wednesday’s child will leave you full of woe and leave its streaming home for now.

UPDATE: The streaming service has now officially renewed the show, including a statement from creators Gough and Millar: “It’s been incredible to create a show that has connected with people across the world. Thrilled to continue Wednesday’s tortuous journey into season two. We can’t wait to dive headfirst into another season and explore the kooky spooky world of Nevermore. Just need to make sure Wednesday hasn’t emptied the pool first.”

There is also a video announcement…

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January 6, 2023
TV Review: ‘Wednesday’

Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams in ‘Wednesday.’ Photo: Vlad Cioplea/Netflix © 2022.

Now showing on Netflix, ‘Wednesday’ represents the latest attempt to bring ‘The Addams Family’ to screens, and one that succeeds partly because of its star.

The Addams Family, which originated with Charles Addams’ single-panel cartoons and strips in the 1930s and 1940s, have long since been adapted in different formats, including TV series, a successful pair of movies and animated films.

Now comes ‘Wednesday’, which, rather than featuring the entire family (though they’re there at the start and in a key episode midway through), focuses instead on their eldest child.

Jenna Ortega stars as Wednesday, here presented in traditionally dark clothing and darker moods, more likely to be found studying autopsies that on social media like her classmates.

(L to R) Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams, Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams, Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams, and Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley Addams in Netflix’s ‘Wednesday.’

As the show opens, she’s been kicked out of her latest school for punishing the water polo bullies who picked on her brother Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez) by releasing piranhas in their pool.

Despairing of finding a place where she might actually fit in, her parents––stylish, vampy Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and squat, smooth Gomez (Luis Guzmán)––sign her up for Nevermore Academy, where they studied.

It’s seemingly perfect for her: a place for outcasts, creatures (such as werewolves and sirens) and those who society considers unusual to flourish with their peers. Yet even here, Wednesday feels like an outsider, initially unwilling to engage with the usual school activities outside of attending class.

Her roommate, Enid (Emma Myers), a werewolf with her own family issues, is perky and friendly, and at first gets on Wednesday’s last nerve. Then there’s Principal Larissa Weems (Gwendoline Christie), a former classmate of Morticia and Gomez, who still bears a grudge against them for some mysterious reason (it won’t surprise you that this gets explored during the season).

Gwendoline Christie as Larissa Weems in ‘Wednesday.’ Photo Courtesy of Netflix © 2022.

As she tries to make the best of it, slowly forming an unexpected social circle that shifts and warps in relatively traditional young adult fictional ways, Wednesday copes with the help of family aide Thing, a disembodied hand (played, with an effects assist, by Victor Dorobantu) bursting with personality who can say more with the flick of a finger than some can with a monologue.

And Nevermore has its own challenges beyond the usual cliques and classes––there’s a strange creature lurking around and pupils are disappearing and a dark history to the local town that Wednesday’s burgeoning psychic powers will unlock.

Created for TV by ‘Smallville’ veterans Miles Millar and Alfred Gough, this show also boasts the talents of Tim Burton, who would seem to be a natural fit for the ‘Addams’ style (he was actually offered the first movie but passed). And so it proves.

With sparky, entertaining scripts and suitably gothic production design, ‘Wednesday’ proves to be a winner, full of imagination and ideas that put it ahead of the game for its genre.

(L to R) Moosa Mostafa as Eugene Otinger, and Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams in ‘Wednesday.’ Photo Courtesy of Netflix © 2022.

Though Burton is usually found putting his unique stamp on projects, here he resists that urge––it’s not missing entirely, but it’s certainly toned down. Call it just enough to help the show have a specific look.

Yet perhaps the main reason this succeeds the way it does is Ortega, who brings a dark vitality to the role. She completely owns the character, finding new layers (aided by the scripts and the show’s push to explore why she is who she is) to someone that we’ve seen before.

That’s no easy task considering that the cast also boasts Christina Ricci, whose Wednesday in 1991’s ‘The Addams Family’ and 1993’s ‘Addams Family Values’ is still considered the gold standard. Ortega never feels like she’s channelling Ricci, but their Wednesdays are complementary, springing from the same source.

Delivering certain lines as though they’re dripping with poison, and yet finding the humanity too, Ortega’s is an awards-worthy performance and more proof that she’s a rising star to watch.

(L to R) Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams, and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Adams in ‘Wednesday.’ Photo Courtesy of Netflix © 2022.

Outside of Ortega, ‘Game of Thrones’ Christie puts in a solid performance as Weems, who is none too happy to have another Addams at the school. As for the family themselves, Zeta-Jones and Guzmán (whose Gomez is actually closer in design to the original cartoon strips than the movies’) do a lot with the little they’re given––because, after all, the show isn’t called ‘The Addams Family’. It’s fun to see them on screen, and the parents do pop in the episode focused on their past with Nevermore.

Myers’ Enid plays well off of Ortega, bringing extra joy to the screen whenever she graces it, while enthusiastic early friend Eugene (Moosa Mostafa) is also a fun addition.

Plus, while the character is usually a throwaway gag in scenes, Thing here has more of a part to play, serving as a confidante for Wednesday, while also sending intel back to the family. He’s brought to life in such a way as to totally seem real––he’s practically a magic trick, which makes sense since hand-actor Dorobantu is a magician in real life.

And, while he shows up later in the show, Uncle Fester (Fred Armisen) is also entertaining, though sometimes perhaps too much of Armisen creeps through at times.

Fred Armisen as Uncle Fester in ‘Wednesday.’ Photo: Vlad Cioplea/Netflix © 2022.

The male contingent of the school makes less of an impact, blandly filling their part of the story and the show does sometimes fall into the pitfalls of the YA genre, with less-than-thrilling romantic subplots and a few stock characters. But thanks to Ortega and her castmates’ commitment, ‘Wednesday’ still works.

The show has been a big hit for Netflix––both in terms of viewers and viral content––and it’s not hard to see why. Season 2 would be a welcome surprise, as there’s plenty of story left to be told.

‘Wednesday’ receives 4 out of 5 stars.

(L to R) Jamie McShane as Sherrif Donovan Galpin, and Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams in ‘Wednesday.’ Photo: Vlad Cioplea/Netflix © 2022.
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December 29, 2022
New Trailer for Netflix’s ‘Addams Family’ Spin-Off ‘Wednesday’

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While we’ve met plenty of the Addams Family so far in trailers for Netflix’s new spin-off series ‘Wednesday’, there was one main character who had yet to be revealed. The streamer used the New York Comic-Con to unveil Uncle Fester, here played by Fred Armisen.

In typical Fester form, he’s a bald, pale sort whom Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) initially suspects might be a threat, but is delighted to discover it is, in fact, her uncle. And though he claims to be traveling incognito, we’re not sure a dalmatian-spotted motorbike exactly lives up to that concept.

With Ortega as the titular central character, ‘Wednesday’ charts her years as a teenager, albeit one who still favors dark tones and ice-cold seriousness.

As for the rest of the family, we have Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia, Luis Guzmán as a Gomez who hews more closely to Charles Addams’ original comic strip version and Isaac Ordonez as brother Pugsley, the target of many of Wednesday’s schemes (though she will fiercely defend him as needed, too).

Fred Armisen as Uncle Fester in ‘Wednesday.’ Photo: Vlad Cioplea/Netflix © 2022.

‘Wednesday’, which of course draws from Addams’ work, sprung from the minds of ‘Smallville’ duo Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, who decided on a new direction. And while they never expected to, they secured the ideal creative partner in Tim Burton, who agreed to executive produce and direct the series.

“He was interested in where it was going, the mystery of the show,” Gough tells Vanity Fair. “He had a lot of questions about the previous television work we’d done, like how we were able to achieve it. He really loved that you had time to be with Wednesday and explore the character and you didn’t have to wrap things up in an hour and 45 minutes.”

‘Wednesday’ is described a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore Academy. Wednesday attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships at Nevermore.

Gwendoline Christie, recently seen in ‘Sandman’, is Larissa Weems, head teacher of Nevermore, and apparently no fan of the Addams clan, with an axe to grind stretching back years to her time as a classmate of Morticia.

Gwendoline Christie as Larissa Weems in ‘Wednesday.’ Photo Courtesy of Netflix © 2022.

The cast also includes Thora Birch, Tommie Earl Jenkins, Iman Marson, William Houston, Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo, Oliver Watson, Calum Ross, Johnna Dias Watson, Riki Lindhome, Jamie McShane, Hunter Doohan, Georgie Farmer, Moosa Mostafa, Emma Myers, Naomi J. Ogawa, Joy Sunday and Percy Hynes White.

Also popping up – and providing an unexpected link to the movies – is Christina Ricci in an unknown role. She, of course, famously played Wednesday in 1991’s ‘The Addams Family’ and 1993’s ‘Addams Family Values’. Her character is one of the teachers at Nevermore.

Though it might seem to be prime fodder for Halloween viewing, Netflix has decided instead to go for November 23rd, AKA the day before Thanksgiving. Perhaps the streaming service is looking to give frustrated families something to watch between giant meals?

Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams in ‘Wednesday.’ Photo: Vlad Cioplea/Netflix © 2022.

(L to R) Moosa Mostafa as Eugene Otinger, and Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams in ‘Wednesday.’ Photo Courtesy of Netflix © 2022.

(L to R) Jamie McShane as Sherrif Donovan Galpin, and Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams in ‘Wednesday.’ Photo: Vlad Cioplea/Netflix © 2022.

L to R) Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams, Percy Hynes White as Xavier Thorpe, Joy Sunday as Bianca Barclay in ‘Wednesday.’ Photo Courtesy of Netflix © 2022.

Emma Myers as Enid Sinclair in ‘Wednesday.’ Photo: Vlad Cioplea/Netflix © 2022.

Hunter Doohan as Tyler Galpin in ‘Wednesday.’ Photo Vlad Cioplea/Netflix © 2022.

Riki Lindhome as Dr. Valerie Kinbott in ‘Wednesday.’ Photo Vlad Cioplea/Netflix © 2022.

(L to R) Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams, and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Adams in ‘Wednesday.’ Photo Courtesy of Netflix © 2022.

October 10, 2022
First Look at the Addams Family in ‘Wednesday’

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Tim Burton famously passed on the offer to make a movie based on Charles Addams’ famous cartoon strip family (they’d previously arrived on screens via a 1960s TV series). But he’s now fully involved in the upcoming Netflix TV series ‘Wednesday’, which as the title suggests, focuses on the eldest child of the family.

The first trailer for the show explores how the ultimate troubled teen – not that she or her family would see her that way – has been expelled from a variety of ill-fitting schools through the years but might finally have a chance to fit in at Nevermore Academy, with which her parents have history. But even there, she faces issues (see more on that below).

It’s a stylish and fun first proper peek at the series, as Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) gets revenge on jocks who have been tormenting brother Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez) by releasing piranhas in the high school athletes’ pool.

And you can also see Ortega as Wednesday in a new image, with Catherine Zeta-Jones as mom Morticia, Luis Guzmán as dad Gomez, and Ordonez’ Pugsley.

While people these days tend to associate Gomez with the suave, lithe Raul Julia from the 1990s movies (which Barry Sonnenfeld ended up directing), the intent here was to bring him back closer to the original illustrated version.

“He wanted the silhouette to look more like the Charles Addams cartoons, which is Gomez shorter than Morticia, versus the kind of suave Raul Julia version in the movies,” co-show-runner Alfred Gough tells Vanity Fair.

(L to R) Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams, Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams, Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams, and Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley Addams in Netflix’s ‘Wednesday.’

“He’s also incredibly debonair and romantic, and I think he has all those classic ingredients of the Gomez that has come before, but he brings something also very different and new,” his colleague and fellow executive producer Mark Millar offers. “That’s something that was very important to the show – that it didn’t feel like a remake or a reboot. It’s something that lives within the Venn diagram of what happened before, but it’s its own thing. It’s not trying to be the movies or the ’60s TV show. That was very important to us and very important to Tim.”

Gough and Millar came up with the original concept and are running the show, while Burton directs and produces.

‘Wednesday’ is described a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore. Wednesday attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships at Nevermore.

Gwendoline Christie, recently seen in ‘Sandman’, is Larissa Weems, head teacher of Nevermore, and apparently no fan of the Addams clan, with an axe to grind stretching back years to her time as a classmate of Morticia.

The cast also includes Thora Birch, Tommie Earl Jenkins, Iman Marson, William Houston, Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo, Oliver Watson, Calum Ross, Johnna Dias Watson, Riki Lindhome, Jamie McShane, Hunter Doohan, Georgie Farmer, Moosa Mostafa, Emma Myers, Naomi J. Ogawa, Joy Sunday and Percy Hynes White.

Also popping up – and providing an unexpected link to the movies – is Christina Ricci in an unknown role. She, of course, famously played Wednesday in 1991’s ‘The Addams Family’ and 1993’s ‘Addams Family Values’.

Netflix has yet to announce when ‘Wednesday’ will arrive on the streaming service, beyond saying it’ll be in the fall. We’re thinking around Halloween might be the perfect spot. Perfectly terrible, and therefore perfect if we’re channelling Wednesday.

(L to R) Jimmy Workman, Christina Ricci, and David Krumholtz in ‘Addams Family Values.’

August 17, 2022
Christina Ricci Joins ‘Addams Family’ TV series ‘Wednesday’

(L to R) Jimmy Workman, Christina Ricci, and David Krumholtz in ‘Addams Family Values.’

When news broke that Netflix – and producer/director Tim Burton – were planning ‘Wednesday’, a new, updated show based on Charles Addams’ ‘Addams Family’, many wondered whether the series would find a place for Christina Ricci, who famously played the character in the live-action movies.

It has – though not in her original role. Instead, according to Deadline, she’s playing a mystery new character.

Jenna Ortega, who appeared in this year’s new ‘Scream’ sequel is Wednesday here, with Luis Guzmán as Gomez, Issac Ordonez as Pugsley, George Burcea as Lurch and Victor Dorobantu as Thing.

‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Star Wars’ veteran Gwendoline Christie will be Larissa Weems, head teacher of Nevermore, and apparently no fan of the Addams clan, with an axe to grind stretching back years to her time as a classmate of Morticia.

The cast also includes Tommie Earl Jenkins, Iman Marson, William Houston, Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo, Oliver Watson, Calum Ross, Johnna Dias Watson, Riki Lindhome, Jamie McShane, Hunter Doohan, Georgie Farmer, Moosa Mostafa, Emma Myers, Naomi J. Ogawa, Joy Sunday and Percy Hynes White.

Alfred Gough and Miles Millar came up with the original concept and are running the show, while Burton is an executive producer and is directing the eight-episode first season. Cameras have been rolling for the past few months in Romania.

Christina Ricci in ‘Addams Family Values.’

‘Wednesday’ is described a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore Academy. Wednesday’s attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships at Nevermore.

The chance to add Ricci reportedly came about when Thora Birch – who was appearing as Tamara Novak, Wednesday’s dorm mother and the only “Normie” on staff at Nevermore Academy with a focus on all things botanical – had to leave mid-production to deal with a family issue.

She’d finished filming the bulk of her scenes, though the new character played by Ricci is apparently intended to succeed her somehow and wrap up her storyline. While the production is scheduled to finish work in the next couple of weeks, Ricci has reportedly been on set for at least a couple of months, quietly filming what the producers hope will be a gift for fans of ‘The Addams Family’ movies.

Ricci became for many people the defining live-action Wednesday after playing the character in 1991’s ‘The Addams Family’ and 1993’s ‘Addams Family Values,’ directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. There, she was a clever, morose sort, constantly plotting against her younger brother.

More recently, Ricci had a brief role in ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ and upcoming horror thriller ‘Monstrous’. She’s also been enjoying kudos for her part in Showtime’s buzzy mystery thriller series ‘Yellowjackets’.

As for ‘Wednesday,’ Netflix has yet to announce when the show will premiere, but it could be on our screens before the end of the year.

(L to R) Carel Struycken, Jimmy Workman, Judith Malina, Christina Ricci, Raul Julia, Anjelica Huston, and Christopher Lloyd in 1991’s ‘The Addams Family.’
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March 22, 2022
Amazon Cancels Christina Ricci’s Zelda Fitzgerald Series

Amazon has pulled the plug on “Z: The Beginning of Everything,” which stars Christina Ricci as Zelda Fitzgerald, after just one season.

That’s surprising news since, according to The Wrap, the series had previously been renewed for a second season and writers were already working on new scripts.

The show, about the just-as-famous wife of “The Great Gatsby” author F. Scott Fitzgerald, debuted in January.

It’s based on the 2013 book about the Jazz Age icon, “Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald.”

David Hoflin (“Crossbones”) costarred as F. Scott Fitzgerald and David Strathairn as Zelda’s father.

September 8, 2017
How Christina Ricci’s ‘Really Specific Vision’ Brought Zelda Fitzgerald to Life

It’s a role Christina Ricci thought suited her to a Z.

For nearly a century, Zelda Fitzgerald has been a subject of enduring fascination, as the ultimate muse of the Jazz Age, a woman whose high living and high spirits fueled the much revered writings of her novelist husband F. Scott Fitzgerald and who danced with spilling champagne flutes upon café society tabletops at home and abroad as the living incarnation of the American flapper.

Though she would not live to see 50, Zelda Fitzgerald’s life, gin-soaked antics, and turbulent marriage would gradually be elevated to legendary status, symbolic of both spirited excess and proto-feminist defiance, until she emerged as a bona fide 20th century icon.

Now Ricci, who, as a popular actress since her childhood years, is no stranger to living life in the public eye — though not with nearly Zelda’s level of wild abandon — teams with Amazon Studios for “Z: The Beginning of Everything.” Premiering in full on January 27th, the ten-episode series, with Ricci serving as both executive producer and leading lady, offers a look at the prototypical jazz baby with fresh eyes, simultaneously bringing her down to earth while shedding light on just how much of a societal status quo-shattering force she ultimately was, as Ricci reveals in conversation with Moviefone.

Moviefone: When did Zelda Fitzgerald hit your radar for the first time?

Christina Ricci: I don’t know when I first heard of Zelda. But the book that the show’s based on, “Z: A Zelda Fitzgerald Novel,” by Therese Fowler, is a book that I discovered; I think it was on a bestseller list or something in a magazine, or must-have summer reading or something. So I read it, and I absolutely just loved it. I loved how intimate Therese made the story. I love how accessible and sort of modern Zelda’s voice was. I just thought it was something really worth telling, a story worth telling.

She’s been a figure of fascination for generations, of both women and men. What do you think is the secret of her ongoing allure and the appeal of her story?

I think she really was a person out of time. It’s like she was out of place in the time period she was. It’s almost like a mistake happened in the universe, and she was born, like, 60 years too early or something, or 70 years too early, or 80 years too early. Because, I think, that it’s taken that many generations for us finally to evolve, and women who understand her behavior, women who are like her.

I think that the fascination, and why it’s now all kind of coming to a head with her, is that she’s finally relatable. I think before, her behavior was just too bizarre, because the rest of us hadn’t gotten there yet.

On the most personal level, what was that thing about Zelda that really resonated with you, that you felt you got, or that you related to particularly?

I think the thing that I always love about, one through-line I think, when you read about really fantastic women in history, strong women, women who struggled, is there seemed to be this strength in, realizing a situation they were in, but making the best of it. That’s a real survivor. Somebody who was able to turn their situation into something palatable or even enjoyable. What I loved about Zelda is that she made the best out of her situation. She was always herself and just couldn’t help it.

Her love story with F. Scott Fitzgerald has become legend. What was, to you, the challenge or the joy of making that story real and making it relatable for the modern audience?

That wasn’t such a conscious thing. You put two actors in parts, and you write scenes for them and they’re in love, and you hope it works. David [Hoflin] was cast very late. We didn’t rehearse at all. I think we just really lucked out. David and I get along really well. We worked really well together. Both of us are child actors, and I think it’s that kind of comfort on screen and on set that allows us then the space to really work on the chemistry.

We see her early struggle rebelling against the world in which she’s raised. We all do that to a degree as we come up. You came up in Hollywood, which is probably an interesting world to rebel against. Did you find yourself at any point in your life wanting to move in different directions than the world you lived in was telling you to move in?

You mean do something other than be an actress?

Or just maybe even be an actress in a different way than the system was trying to tell you to be an actress, or the kinds of roles they were telling you to play.

Yeah. I’ve never been very good at doing things that don’t occur to me naturally. I think I’m very much like Zelda, in that I have a hard time not being myself. So yeah, I’ve definitely felt at a certain point that I was supposed to become something different, but I tried really hard, and I couldn’t. I think it’s almost, in trying really hard that I did my career a lot of damage. Because you should always be the thing that makes you special, the thing that no one else can do, but you can do.

What was the creative reward of shepherding this project as a producer? Was there a particular territory that you gave extra attention in that role?

I love filmmaking. I love movies. I’ve been on sets my entire life. I’m obsessed with the process. I’m obsessed with the nuance of story, with performance, every aspect of it. So for me, it was just … I wanted to see this told, and I wanted to see it told the right way. Quote-unquote, the right way, according to me.

You are a producer!

I have a very strong opinion, generally, about everything. I had really specific vision for this.

Do you feel there’s a very specific takeaway for a generation that’s going to discover Zelda Fitzgerald for the first time through this series? Do you think that there’s a really apt metaphor for today’s times to draw from her?

It’s a person and a life, so I think there are many lessons to be learned from this, as many as she learned in her lifetime. I think it’s a story worth telling now, because I think it’s important that we, as women, don’t forget what the world was like for us in the past. I think it’s important that we realize we have something to protect, and more to fight for. I think it’s a great story. It’s a great story to really show how far we’ve come. Because her life wouldn’t have been tragic if she was alive today. She would have had recourse.

January 25, 2017
13 Times Wednesday Addams Spoke Directly to Our Dark Souls

Wednesday Addams (Christina Ricci) was an important part of our childhood, mainly because she helped shape us into the dark and twisty people we are today. We basically feel like we are an honorary Addams family member because of it.

These are the 13 times she really spoke to our black soul.

November 21, 2016