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Wednesday: why the series still struggles to win us over
Partly directed by Tim Burton and streaming on Netflix since November 2022, the series that resurrects the cult universe of The Addams Family still struggles to win us over with its second season, after a lackluster first season. The strong cast led by Jenna Ortega and Catherine Zeta-Jones cannot save it.
By Violaine Schütz.
The brilliant casting of the series Wednesday
Flashback. It was as a mischievous and endearing little girl that 1990s icon Christina Ricci first left her mark. Her portrayal of Wednesday in The Addams Family (1991) established her strange and captivating face in Hollywood. So let’s be honest, the fact that she returns to the Addams Family universe thirty years later, in one of Netflix’s biggest hits, was a real delight.
The Yellowjackets star appears in both season 1 and season 2 of Wednesday, which has been airing on Netflix since 2022. Indeed, the actress who once played the gothic girl in the two horror-comedy films from the 1990s only plays a supporting role now – that of a staff member at Nevermore Academy dressed like Helena Bonham Carter. But she lights up the screen with her quirky charm and vivid gaze.
Jenna Ortega, Netflix’s sarcastic gem
Much like Christina Ricci, the cast of Wednesday remains one of the show’s greatest strengths throughout the two seasons. Gwendoline Christie, Emma Myers, Steve Buscemi, and the magnetic, sultry Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams… With names like these, we cannot but be amazed.
But it’s above all Jenna Ortega (Scream, The Fallout, You) who shines in the role of Wednesday Addams. A teenage girl with fair skin and jet black outfits, who studies among outcasts (including werewolves) at Nevermore Academy, a boarding school reminiscent of Hogwarts.
In season 1, the actress had real bite, especially when she danced to a Cramps track like the singer Siouxsie Sioux. In season 2, she gives new depth to the outsider stereotype, quoting Sartre and firing off killer punchlines – “The last person who tried to tickle me lost a finger”.
With her impeccable sense of fashion and perfects braids, the clairvoyant, cynical teen gleefully plays detective, solving murders while going head-to-head with her Nevermore classmates. Because yes, she still has little love for her peers, and anyone in general… Except for her friend Enid.
A watered-down version of Tim Burton
Yet, season 2 leaves us just as conflicted as season 1 used to. Wednesday lacks the irresistibly morbid charm found in earlier Addams Family incarnations. We can think of the original New Yorker cartoons from the 1930s, or television and film adaptations. We do appreciate a few stylistic touches from Tim Burton, such as the crows attack as a reference to Hitchcock. Tim Burton is the executive producer and directed some episodes of the series.
However, the presence of the master of gothic aesthetic has long ceased to be a guarantee of quality. Of course, the season 2 of this Netflix production deserves credit for removing soporific romantic subplots in season 1. We also see more of Wednesday’s parents. But the convoluted and lackluster storyline struggles to keep us engaged.
A season 2 caught between Harry Potter and Scooby-Doo
Despite the nods to Edgar Allan Poe and the characters’ appealing wardrobes, the dark humor feels far less sharp than in the 1990s Addams Family films. What’s missing is the absurdity, sarcasm, horror, weirdness, and surrealism. All key elements of the Addams world, so brilliantly embodied in the black-and-white 1960s series. Wednesday delivers a kind of cheap version of goth aesthetic. It feels like a macabre content marketed for the TikTok generation, loaded with light jokes and easy punchlines.
After the overly tame first episodes of season 2, we are left feeling like we have just watched yet another teen series, such as Elite, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina or Riverdale. The whole project seems more like a blend of Harry Potter and Scooby-Doo, rather than a sharp, macabre gem meant to make all the weirdos feel less alone. We are still holding out hope that the next four episodes of season 2, scheduled for September 3rd, 2025, may change our minds. Especially with the highly-anticipated appearance of Lady Gaga, which we hope will be monstrously brilliant.
The first four episodes of Wednesday season 2, created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, are out now.
