Since the release of the first cartoon in 1938, the beloved Addams family has inspired many adaptations, ranging from movies to a musical on broadway. They are known for their peculiar personalities and mannerisms, yet remain perhaps one of the most functional fictional families in the media - they support and love each other unconditionally.
Released on November 23, 2022 on Netflix, Wednesday has 8 episodes ranging from 47-59 minutes in length. It’s been a huge hit with audiences - the show has broken the record for most hours viewed in a week for a Netflix series, surpassing Stranger Things (which previously held the record at 335.1 million streams) with 341.2 million streams. The series is notably produced by Tim Burton, who wrote screenplays such as Coraline and Beetlejuice. The show addresses its long-standing history by featuring actress Christina Ricci who starred as Wednesday Addams in the 1991 film The Addams Family.
Wednesday follows teenage Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) who has recently been expelled from her high school for playing a lethal prank on her classmates. Believing she would feel more at home in a school for Outcasts, her parents enroll her at Nevermore Academy. During her time there, she must figure out how to navigate her growing psychic ability, solve a series of murders, and reveal a secret that her parents have been concealing from her for years. It’s not easy when her overly cheery roommate Enid Sinclair (Emma Meyers) insists on befriending her, and two boys compete for her attention, distracting her from solving the crime.
Ortega is an accomplished actress whose career arguably began to take off when she starred as Harley Diaz in Disney Channel’s Stuck in the Middle, which premiered in 2016. Ortega is also known for her performance as young Jane in Jane the Virgin (2014-2019) and Katie Torres in the film Yes Day (2021).
In Wednesday, Ortega delivers an excellent performance. She masters Wednesday’s stoicism by barely blinking and delivering her lines in a monotone voice. When called for, Ortega gives Wednesday eccentricities - for Wednesday’s iconic dance scene in episode 4, Ortega says that “ [she] just pulled inspiration from videos of goth kids dancing in clubs in the ’80s. Lene Lovich music videos, Siouxsie and the Banshees performances, and Fosse,” while choreographing the dance in an interview with Vulture.
Marketed as a comedy horror series, Wednesday’s dark demeanor and acerbic wit shine through as she consistently rejects and insults her peers. Wednesday is a smart, sharp and ambitious protagonist who firmly defends her own beliefs and takes pride in her uniqueness. She is not without faults, however - Wednesday often pushes away those closest to her and refuses the help of others.
Wednesday’s relationship with Enid is perhaps the most comical aspect of the show, but also one of Wednesday’s most important relationships. Wednesday’s bitterness contrasts with Enid’s optimism, which surprisingly creates a functional roommate dynamic. Enid accepts Wednesday for who she is, and in turn, Wednesday slowly grows to trust and rely on Enid.
Wednesday and Enid certainly have a dynamic that can foster a romantic relationship, but the writers choose to put Wednesday in a love triangle. Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan) son of the county sheriff and fellow student Xavier Thorpe (Percy Hynes White) play Wednesday's possible love interests. Enid also has a blossoming romantic relationship with gorgon Ajax Petropolus (Georgie Farmer).
The love triangle is a predictable, tired trope that focuses on a female character’s love life rather than her character. In an interview with ExtraTV, Ortega herself even said: "I told [the script writers] very early on that I did not want [Wednesday] to be in the middle of a love triangle." Wednesday explicitly tells both boys that she does not want to be in a romantic relationship with either of them and was only using them in order to achieve her own means. She lacks chemistry with either boy and they both refuse to respect her boundaries.
A romantic relationship between Wednesday and Enid would perhaps be a more healthy relationship. Netflix has hinted at romance between the two characters, using romantic tropes such as opposites attract and “they hate everyone except for the love interest.” Furthermore, Enid’s parents attempt to send her to “werewolf conversion camp” so she can “wolf out,” which appears to be a thinly veiled metaphor for queerness. Given Netflix’s track record with canceling shows with sapphic couples, it is unlikely that a romantic relationship would ever come to fruition.
Another disappointing aspect of the show is that some of the actors are much older than their characters. In Wednesday, Wednesday’s classmates are meant to be around 15 or 16 years old. When the actors and actresses are only a few years older than their characters (such as Ortega, who is 20), they typically look similar to the age that their characters are supposed to be, creating a more realistic performance and allowing younger actors a chance to prove themselves in the acting field.
When the actors are much older than their characters (such as Doohan, who is 28), the show lacks realism. In a show with all sorts of supernatural beings, it should be important that at least this aspect of the show is accurate. The acting field is large and young talent is left undiscovered, so it is not necessarily difficult to find age-accurate actors.
Despite its faults, Wednesday is certainly an engaging show. It is part mystery, part coming of age, and part horror comedy. Both interesting characters and a complex plotline will keep audiences intrigued.
Given its viewing record, Wednesday is certainly popular enough to be picked up for a second season. There are some loose ends that have not been tied up that will likely be explored in a second season. For example, Wednesday is still receiving death threats at the end of the season and her relationship with Xavier is left open-ended. I only hope that Wednesday is not forced into a romantic relationship and that she continues to be the borderline psychopathic girl that audiences love.