This is a spoiler-free review of Wednesday
Woefully so, the anticipated premiere of the Netflix series Wednesday premiered on Wednesday November 23. Starring Jenna Ortega as the titular character, the series follows Wednesday Addams getting expelled from normie school and then being placed at Nevermore Academy which educates and molds society’s deemed monsters, freaks, and outcasts ran by Principal Larissa Weems (Gwendoline Christie). The series shows viewers a different side of the Charles Addams created character highlighting Wednesday in a way we’ve never seen before. The daughter of darkness has never been the sole star of an Addams Family project and it was entertaining to watch Ortega bring a fresh version of the macabre character.
Tim Burton’s Universe
Created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, and from the imagination of Tim Burton (Executive Producer and Director of 4 of the 8 episodes), Wednesday flawlessly blends the luminous, rich color and pallid undertone palette a Tim Burton project is revered for. Cinematography work by David Lanzenberg and Stephan Pehrsson makes every scene in Wednesday stunning and perfectly matched with the jaunty scores from Chris Bacon and Danny Elfman. A large portion of the series takes place at Nevermore Academy, but the nearby town of Jericho also serves as a beautiful background to showcase how different the “normies” and the outcasts of the show are.
Nevermore Academy
Inside the prestigious Nevermore Academy, founded in 1791, Wednesday Addams navigates her first year as a student with her psychic abilities evolving as she tries to solve the mystery of a murderous animal wreaking havoc on the town. The students at the academy are a fascinating group made up of four main cliques: Fangs, Furs, Stoners, and Scales aka Vampires, Werewolves, Gorgons, and Sirens, respectively. Bianca Barclay (Joy Sunday), a siren, is the school’s queen bee and is at odds with her ex and resident tortured artist Xavier Thorpe (Percy Hynes White) when Wednesday catches his eye. Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers) is the literal depiction of a rainbow and is Wednesday’s enthusiastic, werewolf roommate.
Yoko Tanaka (Naomi J Ogawa), Eugene Ottinger (Moosa Mostafa), and Ajax Petropolus (Georgie Farmer) are more students at Nevermore Academy. I would have loved more displays of the students’ talents like Bianca’s Siren Song, or Ajax’s stoning, but they still were added elements of Wednesday that made the series enjoyable. Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan), son of Sheriff Galpin (Jamie McShane), isn’t a student but plays a key role in the overall narrative of the series along with Dr. Valerie Kinbott (Riki Lindhome), Wednesday’s court ordered therapist. No supporting character could be trusted, and that added to the thrilling mystery of trying to figure out who the monster was.
The Addams Family
Growing up in the 1990’s, my version of the infamous Addams Family came from The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993) films, although they were first shown in live action back in the 1960’s. The glamorous Morticia, the devoted Gomez, the mischievous Pugsley, and insane Uncle Fester made those films cult classics with its dry, dark humor sprinkled in those films.
Although I loved Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams and didn’t mind Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams, I didn’t feel the chemistry and electrifying love Gomez and Morticia are known for in the live action depictions. If I focused on the scenes when the actors had one-on-one interactions with Wednesday, then I think their portrayal of the iconic characters were fitting, but as a couple it wasn’t my favorite interaction. Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley Addams was also an interesting take if I’m basing it off the 1990’s films. Pugsley was a worthy adversary of Wednesday’s antics in those films, but in the Netflix series he was a squirmy younger brother with no bite. I can appreciate how that relationship showed off Wednesday’s softer side though, but I would have wanted more from Pugsley.
Victor Dorobantu playing Thing was a true highlight in Wednesday. Thing may be a hand, but he’s the heart of the series. Bringing out more of the touching moments in the show, Thing was the best part of including The Addams Family into the show and played Wednesday’s right hand man (no pun intended) with a balanced level of endearment and deceitfulness. Fred Armisen guest starring as Uncle Fester didn’t serve a major point outside of being there to help Thing’s storyline. Armisen seemed underused and made me think of why they included him in the first place.
Picking up on Addams Family easter eggs in the show was a delight if you are a fan of the franchise. Cleverly inserting a way to snap twice, using lyrics from the sitcom theme song composed by Vic Mizzy in dialogue, seeing Lisa Loring’s infamous dance alongside Lurch used, and even a glimpse of Cousin It made Wednesday a love letter for Addams Family enthusiasts.
Wednesday’s Legacy
The character of Wednesday Addams has come a long way since her initial appearance in the New Yorker comic in 1938. Lisa Loring brought an adolescent version of her to live action in the 1964 sitcom The Addams Family, and Christina Ricci became a goth girl icon playing her in the 1990’s films. It was so exciting to find out Ricci would have a role in Wednesday. Her version of the deadpan daughter will remain a classic, but seeing her play original character created for the show Marilyn Thornhill, dorm mom and normie teacher at Nevermore, was captivating and made me ecstatic that she was included in the ongoing Wednesday legacy. Anytime Ricci and Ortega appeared together on screen it was a multiverse of happiness for me.
Jenna Ortega delivered an outstanding updated teen version of Wednesday that would even bring a smile to the most sinister viewer’s face. Ortega effortlessly exuded darkness and sarcasm with memorable one-liners and unexpected warmth when her character showed rare emotion. It must also be mentioned that Ortega’s now quintessential dance number, which she choregraphed herself, in episode 4 is one of the key reasons why fans have been beaming over the actress and her performance on social media.
I’m not sure where more seasons of this show could go. Would more semesters at Nevermore be showcased with new mysteries to solve each season? Could the show expand to life beyond the academy? Wherever the show goes, I’m going to be sure to follow because it’s an action-packed, endearing, and hilarious series that’ll keep you engrossed from start to finish.
Wednesday is streaming on Netflix.
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Amber Dover is a multimedia journalist with over a decade writing about pop culture. Cat mom with a deep love of horror, you can follow Amber at @Glambergirlblog on Instagram and Twitter.
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