(Left) Andrew McCarthy in ‘Less than Zero’. Photo: 20th Century Fox. (Center) Lena Headey stars in ‘Normal’. (Right) James Lance in ‘Ted Lasso’, now streaming on Apple TV.
Preview:
Lena Headey, Andrew McCarthy & James Lance have been cast in ‘Wednesday’.
The third season of the Netflix hit is shooting now.
While there is no official plotline out there yet, the second season ended with Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) heading off with her Uncle Fester (Fred Armisen) to rescue roommate and friend Enid (Emma Myers) from being trapped as an alpha werewolf.
When will ‘Wednesday’ Season 3 hit Netflix?
You’d need Wednesday’s psychic abilities to guess that at this point, but we can presume that it’ll either hit later this year or (more likely) early in 2027.
The first part of ‘Wednesday’s second season left things on a cliffhanger with our heroine injured after her latest encounter with rampant “Hyde” creature Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan). It had a lot to live up to, and while the new batch of episodes certainly have their high points, there is a big issue at its heart.
While the producers, including showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar could be forgiven for sticking to what they know, the endless use of the Hyde creature is a problem as things get repetitive. Also, the first few episodes feel like the tail end of Part One, before a new story randomly takes over, and the two plots fit somewhat uneasily.
The show remains as stylish and fun as ever, but the Hyde creatures are a weak spot –– some effects are decent, others are so cartoony as to truly stand out like a sore thumb.
As expected, Jenna Ortega remains the MVP of the show, her deadpan delivery as on point as always.
But she shares the spotlight with Emma Myers, who shines in particular when she’s swapping bodies with Ortega’s character for a chunk of an episode. The two performers are a delight playing each other, and it’s easily the most fun the season has.
Elsewhere, the Addams clan are used decently, though poor Luis Guzmán still gets the short end of the stick as Gomez. Gwendoline Christie gets to have more fun playing Principal Weems as a spirit guide than she ever truly did in the first season.
And while Lady Gaga’s cameo is fun in the moment, she’s more plot device than character.
Though the second part of the season doesn’t quite live up to the first (those confused storytelling approaches didn’t help), there is still entertainment to be derived from the watching Ortega do her thing.
The producers did at least find a way to weave (most of) the other Addams family members into the story, and the return of Gwendoline Christie’s Weems was a welcome, useful one.
‘Wednesday’ Season 2 Part 2 receives 75 out of 100.
‘Wednesday’ Season 2 Part 1 receives 8 out of 10 stars.
Arriving on Netflix on August 5th is the first part of ‘Wednesday’ Season 2, (four episodes, followed by a further four making up Part 2 on September 3rd).
If all the reporting on it and promotion for the show wasn’t enough to convince you, ‘Wednesday’s return for a second season on Netflix proves that it’s a giant sensation from the off, since it sports a tailored introductory sting featuring everyone’s favorite disembodied hand, Thing, interacting with the steamer’s logo.
‘Wednesday’, though, ultimately has a lot more than the sprawling fanbase to live up to –– it must deliver what audiences enjoyed about the first season while expanding the world and finding some new mysteries for our morbid heroine to explore.
On the evidence of the first part of the new season (split, as is the streamer’s custom, into two chunks premiering in this case roughly a month apart), ‘Wednesday’s child is still full of woe –– and mightily entertaining to boot.
Returning showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar know what makes ‘Wednesday’ tick: plenty of Ortega’s deadpan delivery, a deadly mystery enveloping her and her classmates, plenty for animated body part Thing to handle and some brightness to balance the dour central figure in the form of Emma Myers’ peppy werewolf roommate Enid.
While the element of surprise is perhaps lacking this time, the focus is instead on easing us back into Nevermore Academy, with this year bringing the added notion of having Wednesday’s family –– that would be Morticia, Gomez, Pugsley and looming, groaning manservant Lurch (Joonas Suotamo) –– around on campus more than she would really prefer.
The mystery is another beguiling one, and several of the new characters fit seamlessly into the story.
Still, while the addition of the extended Addams family does draw a little too much focus, at least the writing team keeps the balance most satisfying, Gomez and Pugsley used sparingly while the fractured dynamic between Morticia and her daughter is pushed to the fore.
On the directing front, Tim Burton is back, splitting episodes with Paco Cabezas, offers the requisite style and quirk we’ve come to expect from Wednesday. While not every effect is, er, effective (the Hyde remains some very plasticky CG work), others are still excellent (Thing in particular).
And a move to Ireland for the new season hasn’t impacted the show’s gothic charms, with an episode set at a nearby camp bringing up memories of Wednesday’s memorable time at summer camp in 1993 movie ‘Addams Family Values’.
With Ortega front and center as always, Wednesday herself remains a wonderful creation, all dark moods, gloomy zingers and a wealth of skills. This is a near-perfect blend of actor and role, and Wednesday’s journey this season allows her to deepen without changing too much.
Emma Myers also remains a delight as Enid, the perky werewolf roommate with the love of rainbow colors and, this year, a burgeoning love life. She balances well with Ortega and the two make a solid double act.
The returning members of the Addams clan (now regular cast members) are more of a mixed bag. Catherine Zeta-Jones is ever slinky and superb as Morticia, here handed her own deeper emotional throughline with different generational issues and a more active role in present-day Nevermore.
Luis Guzmán is similarly good as Gomez, though he has less to do (but does it all well). Isaac Ordonez is less convincing as Pugsley, but does at least have a fun plotline –– which also introduces some truly Burton-tastic animation for its backstory.
Previously unseen is Grandmama Hester Frump, Morticia’s mother, brought to vibrant, emotionally distant life by UK sitcom and acting legend Joanna Lumley. She fits smoothly into the wider ensemble.
Of the new recruits, Steve Buscemi makes for an appealing new principal, the goofy Barry Dort, a tireless campaigner for outcasts’ right who also has a hidden agenda, while Billie Piper works well as Isadora Capri, the new music teacher at the school.
There’s a fun, small supporting role for Christopher Lloyd (who played Uncle Fester in the live-action ‘Addams’ movies) and Thandiwe Newton provides mystery and power as the head of a nearby asylum which will become key to the plot in this early chunk of the season.
If it’s tough to follow a hit, ‘Wednesday’s second season so far shows little sign of the strain, bringing back what fans like about the show while layering in new mysteries and some worthwhile fresh faces.
Now it’s up the second batch of episodes to stick the landing…
J6dVmuhWePeMnUx2ujZsp
What’s the story of ‘Wednesday’ Season 2?
Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega), returns to prowl the Gothic halls of Nevermore Academy, where fresh foes and woes await.
This season, Wednesday must navigate family, friends and old adversaries, propelling her into another year of delightfully dark and kooky mayhem.
Armed with her signature razor-sharp wit and deadpan charm, Wednesday is also plunged into a new bone-chilling supernatural mystery.
The show, starring ‘Scream’s Jenna Ortega, ranks as the most-watched English language show that the streaming service has ever released and was nominated for 12 Emmys, winning four.
So naturally, fans have been clamoring for any word of when it might be back on our screens. And while there is still no properly confirmed date (see below), we do at least know that the second season exists, albeit in raw form as Netflix has marked the end of production on the latest batch of episodes by posting a suitably spooky shot of Ortega.
J6dVmuhWePeMnUx2ujZsp
She’s posing, in true Wednesday form, in what appears to be a graveyard, with a gothic gate and two robed statues carrying lanterns behind her. What were you expecting? Rainbows and kittens? Storm clouds and a pet cemetery are more her style.
While this is the first official picture from the new season, we have had a previous first look behind-the-scenes clip released as part of Netflix’s Geeked Week celebrations…
And the biggest recent news for the new season is the announcement that Lady Gaga will be appearing in a relatively small role.
What has happened with ‘Wednesday’ Season behind the scenes?
Cast and crew of Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’. Photo: Netflix.
Given the sheer level of excitement around the first season (Netflix took the rare step of releasing actual figures since it had something to crow about: ‘Wednesday’ notched up most hours viewed in a week with 341.2 million hours, tied the record with fellow genre powerhouse ‘Stranger Things’ fourth season for the most viewed show in 83 countries and stands as one of only three titles to cross 1 billion hours viewed on the service within one month, along with ‘Squid Game‘/ and the aforementioned ‘Stranger Things.’
That prompted the company to spawn all manner of merchandising and real-world “experiences” and naturally to commission a second season.
The production for Season 2 shifted (for budget and scheduling reasons) from Romania to Ireland, and it had to accommodate a few challenges, including a delayed start due to star Ortega’s schedule on Tim Burton’s ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.’
It’s worth noting that Burton is also involved in ‘Wednesday’ as an executive producer as well as directing several episodes.
Alfred Gough and Miles Millar serve as the series’ showrunners, keeping things on track through the new season.
Who else will appear in ‘Wednesday’ Season 2?
(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.’
The first season told the tale of Wednesday’s enrollment at the Nevermore Academy, where she discovers she has inherited her mother’s psychic abilities, allowing her to solve a local murder mystery.
Season 2 will pick up the threads of that, while plunging her into a new mystery, likely with fresh creatures to deal with. The expanded roles for her family members means we can expect more of the Addams clan this time around.
And we predict potential dancing, given the viral TikTok “Wednesday dance” that spread across social media in 2022 following the release of Season 1.
Will Netflix choose to go all ‘Stranger Things’/‘Cobra Kai’ and spread the new episodes out across different chunks? That remains to be seen, but you just know they’ve considered it.
When will ‘Wednesday’ Season 2 land on Netflix?
The streaming service has yet to confirm a formal date, but the show is confirmed to return in 2025.
Cast and crew of Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’. Photo: Netflix.
Preview:
‘Wednesday’ is now in production on Season 2.
Christopher Lloyd and Billie Piper are among the new cast additions.
The likes of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzman are now series regulars.
With such a big reaction to ‘Addams Family’ spin-off dramedy ‘Wednesday’s first season, you can imagine Netflix’s frustration on not being able to strike while the pop cultural iron is at its hottest, with the writers and actors’ strikes putting paid to a potential 2023 shoot.
But, following a location switch to Ireland, the show has finally gotten back into the swing of things, and cameras are now rolling on Season 2, as a fun video featuring disembodied hand Thing delivering scripts reveals…
t9kn2N2c
And the start of production is not the only piece of news to emerge from the show today, as, following on from word of Steve Buscemi joining the cast, a slew of actor announcements was revealed by the streaming service.
And then we have the new guest stars, including the exciting likes of Christopher Lloyd, who has his own ‘Addams Family’ connection, having played Uncle Fester in the two ‘Addams’ movies. But with Fred Armisen already established as Fester in ‘Wednesday’, we’ll have to wait and see who he’s playing.
Here’s what ‘Wednesday’ show-runners Al Gough and Miles Millar said about the new cast:
“We are thrilled that the entire Addams family will be enrolling in Nevermore Academy this season along with a dream cast of icons and new faces.”
Tim Burton will be back as the main director for the new season alongside Paco Cabezas and Angela Robins.
When will ‘Wednesday’ Season 2 be on Netflix?
The streaming service has yet to reveal when the show will return to its servers, but we’re guessing as soon as (in)humanely possible, given that ‘Wednesday’ is the Most Popular English TV series on Netflix with 252.10 Million Season 1 views.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
‘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.
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?
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.
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.’
