Wednesday Season One Left Me Saying “Woe”

Wednesday official poster, photo courtesy Netflix

Wednesday official poster, photo courtesy Netflix

Anna Lopacinski, Editor-in-Chief

They’re creepy, they’re kooky and they’re back in the 2022 Netflix original series, Wednesday.  

Wednesday is a spin-off adaptation of the classic The Addams Family story, following the oldest daughter, Wednesday Addams, in an amateur detective mystery with some morbid undertones. Due to Wednesday’s acting out in her previous school, her parents, Morticia and Gomez, decide to send her to a school for outcasts called Nevermore Academy. While there, Wednesday begins to discover some secrets lurking in the dark while simultaneously juggling her newfound psychic ability. 

Jenna Ortega took on the titular role of Wednesday Addams with a modern gothic spin, and the casting of this role could not have been better. Ortega has become one of Gen Z’s proclaimed “scream queens,” and has been in numerous other horror movies/series in recent years, such as Scream (2022), X (2022), The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020), You (2018) and the soon to be released Scream 6. Ortega took her performance of Wednesday Addams to the next level, perfectly embodying the morbid spirit of the moody teen, and going as far as to not blink in most of her scenes. This role definitely showed that Ortega is one to watch as her career in Hollywood continues to evolve.  

One of the biggest concerns looming over this series was that it would not live up to the original stories, most notably the 1991 film series. While the storyline in Wednesday is derivative of the original Addams Family saga, the Netflix series does a great job of telling its own version of the story while still paying homage to the originals. By far the biggest tribute to the original movie series was the casting of Christina Ricci, who portrayed Wednesday Addams in the 1991 and 1993 films. In the 2022 show, Ricci played the part of Ms. Thornhill, a “normie” teacher at Nevermore who takes a liking to Wednesday. Ricci’s role was a refreshing mixture of seeing her portray a new character in The Addams Family universe while also giving recognition to the early series.  

This series managed to exceed the expectations I had. While the dialogue was corny at some times, the story continued to draw me in with plot twists around every corner.