Wednesday From the Iconic “Addams Family” Deserved Her Own Show, and Here’s Why Everyone Should Watch It

At the end of November 2022, the series, Wednesday, was released. It’s a new adaptation of our favorite Addams Family story. We’re going to tell you what’s so great about the new series, how it’s different from the 1991 hit, and why this goth girl with braids deserved a solo project. And in the bonus section, we’ll tell you how the Thing scenes were filmed.

The series instantly became a hit, beating the new season of Stranger Things in terms of views. Tim Burton himself worked on the show, so all the props are in his signature style. The main character is a melancholic girl, Wednesday Addams, the daughter of Gomez and Morticia. She didn’t fit into an ordinary school, so her parents sent her to a closed facility for outcasts, who are strange teenagers like herself.

Just like in the iconic movie about the Addams Family, Wednesday has 2 braids, wears black, and is a bit detached. But the new Wednesday is still very different from the old one.

The first main difference is her age. In most Addams Family adaptations, the young girl is around 10-13, while in the Netflix series, Wednesday turns 16. Also, in the 2022 show, the supernatural abilities of the family and others are mentioned. For example, Morticia Wednesday is regularly bothered by visions of the past and the future.

In the original comics and previous movies, the Addams are just a weird family with gloomy interests. In the series, there are many supporting characters with their own stories. Also, they are not just ordinary people, they are vampires, werewolves, and gorgons. For example, the main character’s roommate is a werewolf that, unfortunately for her family, still can’t turn into one.

The character has come a long way since the 1964 series. In the first adaptation, she didn’t have much interest in dark stuff. She would breed spiders and tear off dolls’ heads, and that was about it.

In the 1991 movie, Wednesday was a difficult teenager that constantly tested her inventions on her brother, and they weren’t very safe. In the sequel, Addams Family Values, Wednesday and Pugsley are sent to the summer camp, where the girl starts a riot and shows her temper.

There was another adaptation, a 2019 cartoon. Even though it was commercially successful, the reviews were very mixed. It was too “fairy-tale-like.”

Despite the obvious differences, some things in all the versions are the same, like the warm relationship between Wednesday and her brother. She comforts him when he is upset.

When Pugsley is put in a locker, his sister asks him for the names of the people who did it, and she handles it. She seems reserved, but, in fact, she’s sensitive and deep, and the creators manage to show this side of her very well.

The new Wednesday is a strong character. She doesn’t use social media and thinks it’s a waste of time. Instead of a laptop, she uses a typewriter.

And she uses very intelligent, though macabre, quotes. She says, “Every day is all about me.” She doesn’t try to look better than she already does, nor does she care about other people’s opinions.

In the iconic ’90s film, Wednesday was portrayed by actress Christina Ricci. In the new project, Ricci plays a teacher for outcasts as an ordinary person.

By the way, Jenna Ortega, who played Wednesday in the new series, revealed that Ricci never tried to mentor her or show her how into portray this character.

Gomez was played by Luis Guzmán. He is a lot like the father from the original comics. The actor says that this role is in the top 3 of his best acting jobs.

His wife, Morticia, was played by Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Director Tim Burton said that he wanted to make the character more modern, so her makeup had crimson colors.

The headmaster of the school was played by Gwendoline Christie, also known as Brienne of Tarth from Game of Thrones. The actress said she had never felt this beautiful on-screen, and she thanked the director for such an opportunity.

And, of course, the main star of Wednesday is Jenna Ortega. She played the role wonderfully and won the hearts of viewers. After the release of the series, there were a lot of videos where girls copied Ortega’s dance moves at the ball. The actress came up with the moves herself in a matter of days.

But the cool scenes, good actors, and amazing atmosphere are not all that the show has to offer. The writing is just as good. It’s a detective story, where the plot lines are interesting to watch.

Wednesday came to the school not just to study and become part of a new society, but to solve a crime.

By the way, she didn’t get her name right away. In the original comics, the girl and other family members didn’t have names. The names were made specifically for the 1964 series.

Bonus: The actor that played Thing had to hang out in very uncomfortable positions and wear a suit.

Have you watched the series yet? Are you looking forward to season 2?