Hit or Miss: Netflix's 'Wednesday'
Netflix’s upcoming dark comedy, Wednesday, offers viewers a fresh take on the devilish dysfunction of one of America’s most infamous sitcom families. The series follows Jenna Ortega (Scream, The Fallout) as the titular Wednesday, the brooding goth teenage daughter of Gomez and Morticia Addams, as she attempts to harness her burgeoning psychic powers while navigating life at a new boarding school. Wednesday has never been good at fitting in; the show invites fans to explore what exactly sets her apart.
Netflix’s latest trailer for Wednesday was released on Oct. 8 and opens with a black hearse arriving at the gates of the protagonist’s new haunt, Nevermore Academy. At this point, viewers are also introduced to Wednesday’s parents, Gomez and Mortia, played by Luis Guzmán (Boogie Nights, Code Black) and Catherine Zeta-Jones (Chicago, Rock of Ages). Wednesday soon discovers that her new school enrolls a whole host of odd and peculiar students, one of which is her assigned roommate and pastel-loving polar opposite, Enid Sinclair, played by Emma Myers (Girl in the Basement, Dead of Night). “Please excuse Wednesday, she’s allergic to color,” Morticia explains to Enid upon their first meeting. When Enid asks how it affects her, Wednesday replies with an icy, deadpan delivery, “I break into hives and the flesh peels off my bones.”
Even at a school full of misfits, Wednesday remains a maverick. At fencing practice, she wears all black while the rest of the students dress in white uniforms. Outnumbered by bullies, she unflinchingly stands up to them even when cornered. Confronted by a mystery, she dives into solving it without fear or hesitation.
Woven throughout the trailer is the underlying reminder that the show’s heroine finds internal power through outward determination and by unabashedly being and believing in herself. Fitting the mold is not what made Wednesday into an iconic character befitting her own Netflix show. It’s the stoic teen’s total rejection of the hyper-feminized construct of the girlish teen typical of mid-twentieth-century sitcoms that has endeared her to audiences over the decades. Wednesday is the anti-Martia Brady and Judy Jetson and she owns it. “I act as if I don’t care if people dislike me,” Wednesday’s inner-monologue admits to viewers. “Deep down, I actually enjoy it.”
The trailer further shows how Wednesday sets out to solve a mystery linked to both her school and her family. The course of the investigation uncovers “secret societies, hidden libraries,” and “a homicidal monster.” Audiences also get a first look at Fred Armisen (Portlandia, Big Mouth) as Fester Addams, Wednesday’s oafish but loveable uncle who comes to visit her at school.
The trailer reaches its crescendo during a fast-paced sequence of short clips hinting at the thrills, chills and jumps awaiting those who choose to follow Wednesday on her journey. “Nevermore continues to be a place where the questions far outweigh the answers,” Wednesday’s voice-over narration informs viewers before promising, “I won’t stop until I find the truth.”
The final clip viewers are shown in the trailer offers a nod to longtime fans of the Addams’ by introducing Ms. Thornhill, a Nevermore teacher played by Christina Ricci (Yellowjackets, Black Snake Moan). Ricci herself previously portrayed Wednesday Addams in 1991’s The Addams Family and 1993’s Addams Family Values and is set to appear in all episodes of the new series.
Wednesday Addams and her family have appeared in many forms of media over the years since originating as a single-panel comic created by American cartoonist Charles Addams in 1938. The family is notable as a satirical inversion of the perceived ideal family of 20th century America: a blue-blooded wealthy family that celebrates the curious and macabre without concerning themselves with the judgements of others. Television audiences were first introduced to the Addams in 1964 with the premiere of the ABC sitcom, The Addams Family. They have subsequently inspired further television franchises, film adaptations, video games and even a stage musical.
Director Tim Burton leads the team behind Wednesday as a veteran of the campy horror genre having previously helmed off-beat cult classics such as Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice and Corpse Bride. Series creators and executive producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar are long-time collaborators, together penning the scripts for I Am Number Four and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Gough and Millar’s work in television includes writing credits on Charlie’s Angels (2011), Smallville and Into the Badlands. Other members of the show’s cast include Jamie McShane (Bloodline, Gone Girl), Joy Sunday (The Beta Test, Dear White People), Riki Lindhome (Knives Out, Duncanville), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones, The Sandman) and Percy Hynes White (The Gifted, Cast No Shadows). Season one of Wednesday premieres on Netflix on Nov. 23.
