This year's Halloween celebration is full of nostalgia. Aside from Hocus Pocus 2, we're also getting a spinoff show with our favorite The Addams Family sibling, Wednesday. Netflix recently released the trailer for the show along with the cast and Wednesday release date.
While everyone knows about the 90s film franchise, The Addams Family actually started in the 1930s as a series of illustrations for The New Yorker. Created by Charles Addams, the film franchise has turned into a classic Halloween movie. And with the latest addition, we can't help but show our excitement, especially since this is the first time that the spotlight is on Wednesday.
Here's everything you need to know about this new adaptation of the frightening family we just can't help but love.
When Does Wednesday Come Out on Netflix?
The first time that Netflix revealed that they are working on a spinoff show on The Addams Family was in October 2020. At that time, no one knew what the title or focus of the new adaptation would be. The only information that was revealed was that Tim Burton would be behind this new show.
As the project started to gain executive producers and showrunners, Netflix ordered the series to have a total of eight episodes in February 2021. Seven months later, and filming started in Bucharest, Romania. And in February 2022, it was reported to have wrapped up filming its scenes.
And in June 2022, Netflix finally revealed the biggest news of all regarding this show: Jenna Ortega will be playing the titular character. They released this information in a fitting reveal video.
The streaming platform then released a trailer for the show where it unveiled the other characters that will be joining Ortega. And in addition to the first look photos, Netflix revealed that Wednesday will make its debut "this fall."
No specific release date has been announced yet. But if it plans to release the show on a Wednesday right around Halloween, the best time to do it would be on October 26th. This is just a rough guess so we'll have to hang on tight until we get an official date from Netflix.
Wednesday Season 1 will have a total of eight episodes, which you'll likely be able to stream all at once.
In September, Netflix revealed the release date of Wednesday. The show will be released on Wednesday, November 23, 2022.
Wednesday Story: What Is the Series About?
Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably already know who Wednesday Addams is. The main character is partly based on Charles Addams' New Yorker cartoons, which was then turn into a sitcom in the 60s. A cartoon series then followed in the 70s before it was turned into a live-action movie in 1991. There was also a sequel to that movie released in 1993 called Addams Family Values. Another movie was released in 1998 called Addams Family Reunion, which starred Tim Curry and Daryl Hannah.
In 2010, the story was adapted into a Broadway musical called The Addams Family Musical. And finally, there were a couple of animated films released in 2019 and 2021 with a pretty solid cast to voice the characters such as Oscar Isaac (as Gomez Addams), Charlize Theron (as Morticia Addams), Finn Wolfhard (as Pugsley Addams), Snoop Dogg (as Cousin It), and Chloë Grace Moretz (as Wednesday Addams).
For the 2022 spinoff show, Netflix has not divulged too much information about the plot of Wednesday. But in its trailer, the show has been described as Wednesday Addams' "coming-of-age" story with "a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery."
Netflix's official synopsis for Wednesday reads:
"Wednesday Addams misadventures as a student at Nevermore Academy: a very unique boarding school snuggled in deepest New England.
Wednesday’s attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town, and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships at Nevermore."
There is also a longer synopsis released by Netflix, which reads:
"After getting kicked out of eight schools in Five years, Willa aka Wednesday Adams is beginning a new chapter of her life at the academy, the two century old boarding school attended by her parents. However, Willa wants nothing to do with their alma mater and she’s already planning her escape. But this academy is like no other school she’s ever attended. It’s a school of outcasts with four main cliques, the Fangs (vampires) the Furs (werewolves), the Scales (sirens) and the Stoners. It is also a piece of the mystery that holds dark secrets about her family’s past."
In an interview with Vanity Fair, show creator Miles Millar and Alfred Gough says that Burton's new show is separate from the 90s film franchise. "It's not trying to be the movies or the 60s TV show. That was very important to us and very important to Tim."
Who Is Part of Wednesday Cast?
The character has actually been portrayed around 17 times for a TV show, stage, and movie. The most iconic actress to play the role, however, has always been Christina Ricci. And this will be quite a struggle for Wednesday actress, Jenna Ortega, who definitely has big black boots to fill.
Apart from the official revelation video that Netflix released, Ortega used Instagram to break the news to her followers: "New chapter. Hope I can do Wednesday Addams justice. *snaps twice*." She is seen holding the script for the show in the photo.
The other cast members include:
- Jenna Ortega (as Wednesday Addams)
- Catherine Zeta-Jones (as Morticia Addams)
- Isaac Ordonez (as Pugsley Addams)
- Luis Guzmán (as Gomez Addams)
- George Burcea (as Lurch)
- Gwendoline Christie (as Larissa Weems)
- Jamie McShane (as Sheriff Donovan Galpin)
- Emma Myers (as Enid Sinclair)
- Percy Hynes White (as Xavier Thorpe)
- Moosa Mostafa (as Euge Otinger)
- Hunter Doohan (as Tyler Galpin)
- Riki Lindhome (as Dr. Valerie Kinbott)
- Joy Sunday (as Bianca Barclay)
- George Farmer (as Ajax Petropolus)
- Naomi Ogawa (as Yoko Tanka)
- Victor Dorobantu (as Thing)
Here is some exciting news regarding Wednesday. In March 2022, Netflix officially confirmed that Christina Ricci will be coming back for a role. Ricci spoke with Variety and shared:
“I was really flattered to be asked and to be asked by Tim. It’s nice to be a part of this next iteration of that character. It’s fun to watch and it’s fun to see other people’s takes on things and what they put of themselves into something like that.”
Unfortunately, she won't be an older version of Wednesday nor play the role of Morticia Adams. That would be so iconic though.
At this time, her character remains a mystery but is said to be a new addition to the cast.
It was also revealed that Thora Birch would be joining the cast as Tamara Novak, the dorm mother of Wednesday. But in December 2021, Birch had to leave the series to "attend to a personal matter." She left production in Romania and an MGM Television rep said that she will not be returning.
Why Was Luis Guzman Cast as Gomez Addams in Wednesday?
After Netflix revealed the cast of Wednesday, there were some backlash about the show's poor casting choices. In particular, many fans were disappointed at Netflix's decision to cast Luis Guzman as Gomez Addams when they could very well have chosen other actors that were more attractive.
Mainly the backlash is because fans couldn't help but compare Guzman with the former actors that played the role, John Astin and Raul Julia. They pointed out that The Addams Family patriarch has always been dashing and dapper.
But as pointed out by some fans, the original drawings of Gomez Addams has always been "unconventional and plumpy."
It's possible that people have been so used to seeing the svelte character carried by Astin and Julia.
Here are some other illustrations that show what the original Gomez Addams is supposed to look like:
Is There a Wednesday Trailer Online?
Netflix released a main teaser video of Wednesday recently. In the video, we see Wednesday coming to her brother's rescue after being bullied at school. "The only person who gets to torture my brother is me," the teenager says before dropping a couple of bags full of piranhas into a pool where Pugsley's bullies are swimming.
This leads to her expulsion and her family's decision to bring her to Nevermore Academy. Morticia tells Wednesday that she will be with other teens her age who understand her. And we see Wednesday get into more trouble than before.
You can watch the full video here:
It's possible that Netflix could release a second trailer just in time for the show's release. We'll have to wait until October to see if that will happen.
You can also take a look at this Inside the Character video that Netflix released in August 25th:
In September 2022, Netflix ramped up marketing for Wednesday by releasing a new promotional video of Nevermore Academy's headmistress (played by Gwendoline Christie) inviting potential students to "apply" to the school.
You can watch it here:
At the Netflix Tudum 2022 event, Netflix released a never before seen clip from the show: