The Thanksgiving weekend began with the release of the Addams Family spin-off, “Wednesday” on Netflix. From the mind of Tim Burton, the grim Addams Family is back, this time focusing on the daughter, Wednesday Addams. In this coming-of-age story, Wednesday has been re-imagined as a ghoul-loving detective.
Cast and crew
Wednesday is an American comedy horror series created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. The series is based on The Addams Family, created by Charles Addams in the 1930s. The eight-episode-long series has been directed by Tim Burton, James Marshall, and Gandja Monteiro.
“Wednesday” stars Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams, Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams, Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley Addams, and Fred Armisen as Uncle Fester.
Plot
The new Netflix series “Wednesday” is centered on the sociopathic daughter of the Addams Family. The story follows Wednesday Addams, who is a teenager now and a student at Nevermore Academy. She avoids socializing but eventually finds herself caught up in a serial killer mystery. A monster is mysteriously attacking people at Nevermore Academy. Wednesday became a rookie detective and started investigating the cause of the murders.
The 8-episode-long season focused on Wednesday Addams’ journey in the search for the killer.
Review
The characters of the Addams Family are iconic and beloved despite the swings of trends in pop culture. And, now Netflix has added Wednesday Addams, the beloved grim daughter of the Addams Family, into a high school drama.
The fans of the cult classic, The Addams Family, and its sequel will not find the same level of macabre and ghoulish humor. But the series is unique. This coming-of-age story has a unique mix of fantasy-horror-mystery-comedy.
The first four episodes of the series have been directed by Tim Burton, who has added his flavor and influence to the dark comedy-mystery series. The series maintained the charm of the classic Addams Family.
The casting was stunningly done.
The story begins with a classic Wednesday Addams scenario. Now, a teen Wednesday Addams opens up as harming a group of jocks for bullying her brother Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez). Wednesday Addams, played by Jenna Ortega, deserves a 5-star rating. She had successfully maintained the mysterious and spooky personality of Wednesday. Her sharp performance and the dialogue delivery with a sarcastic tone nailed it.
Surprisingly, Christina Ricci who had played Wednesday Addams in the 90s returned as a teacher at the Nevermore Academy. Catherine Zeta-Jones as Monica Addams gets very little screen time. But, did manage to be unforgettable with her hauntingly beautiful looks. She brought to life the “spooky glamor” of the character. Luis Guzman has been fantastically cast as Gomez. Sadly, the couple appeared significantly only in one episode.
The animated hand, a.k.a ‘The Thing’, is always around thus, providing comedic relief.
Although the story on its own is not a complex one. Wednesday is a worthy spin-off of the cult classic, Addams Family.
Will there be a second season of “Wednesday”?
Wednesday ends with a couple of cliffhangers. One showed that the killer woke up, transformed, and escaped. Thus, leaving his status unknown. And the second cliffhanger showed as Wednesday received a suspicious note.
There has to be another season of “Wednesday”.
Though Netflix is to make any official remarks about season 2, Alfred Gough, the co-creator, had shared his optimism about the renewal.
