UNLESS you have been living under a rock or on a mountain with no internet access, you most like have heard or seen the recent Tim Burton spin-off of the classic Addams family, Wednesday. The series has gone viral across various social media platforms since its November premiere – and it deserves all the hype.
Netflix eight-part comedic horror series is arguably one of the biggest shows of last year. The series follows Wednesday Addams, played by the talented Jenna Ortega, as she enrolls in Nevermore Academy.
Nevermore High is not your typical school though. It’s a school for ‘outcasts’, who have various supernatural powers and abilities. Each group forms their own clique and whether it be werewolves, vampires, sirens or psychics, Nevermore has it all.
Who is Wednesday Addams?
Wednesday Addams is a cartoon character created by Charles Addams. She didn’t have a name when she was first created, nor did any of the Addamses. Beginning in the 1930s, Addams featured them as nameless characters in The New Yorker.
Addams meant for her to be around 13 years old, and to have six toes on one foot. He described her as “a sad youngster, prim in attire, and actually pretty lost.”
When plans to turn Addams’ comics into the 1964 television show The Addams Family were announced, he was charged with coming up with names for all of his characters. Wednesday’s name was eventually coined by poet and actress Joan Blake.
The name is inspired by the nursery song Monday’s Child, which forecasts a child’s disposition based on their birth date. As a result, Addams’ pale-faced, melancholy child was called Wednesday because “Wednesday’s child is full of woe”.
Back to the series, Wednesday definitely lives up to that description – she is the daughter of Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzmán) so that comes as a given! She is a loner, she loves black and is not afraid to spill blood if anyone crosses her path. She always has a witty one-liner ready, and is not one to accept defeat. Director Burton and writers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar have caskets full of fun with the character.
This is seen almost instantly during the opening scene of the series, when Wednesday releases a swarm of piranhas into a pool full of jocks who had bullied her younger brother, Pugsley. As a result, she is expelled from her high school, which causes her parents to enrol her in Nevermore Academy, which they both once attended.
Wednesday is not initially excited about transferring schools but Nevermore isn’t as gloomy as she expected. Its curriculum is dedicated to outcasts, creeps, and monsters, and the student body is populated by vampires, werewolves, and sirens.
However, even they are alarmed by Wednesday’s cadaver-white skin and all-black outfit. “Please excuse Wednesday. She’s allergic to colour,” explains Morticia.
Despite the intriguing spooky atmosphere, Wednesday is less pleased by the peers that she is forced to live with. She expresses her discontent with “tribal adolescent stereotypes” when her horrifyingly happy new roommate Enid (Emma Myers) takes her on a tour of the school’s social scene.
Fortunately, a murder investigation at the school is enough to keep her occupied, as she tries to prevent a vicious monster from devouring the students and townspeople.
Part of the reason the show has become a cultural icon is the great casting. From spot-on performances by Ortega, Zeta-Jones and Guzmán – and the appearance of Christina Ricci (who played a young Wednesday Addams in the Addams Family Values in 1993) – the cast do a great job bringing these characters to life. Ortega masters the deadpan look, and the snarky rebuttals help her fully embody Wednesday in a way only she could master.
Wednesday has her own supernatural skills in the form of psychic abilities that allow her to see into the past and future. She has no control over them, and they only happen when she touches something that causes a vision. She describes her visions as “coming on without warning and feel like electroshock therapy, but without the wonderful afterburn”.
Secondly, the fashion in the show doesn’t disappoint. The goth-chic layered with some soft punk and statement pieces sent fans into a frenzy. It adds to and enriches the story, giving it believability and relatability, as most of the show’s target audience would die for this kind of style.
Wednesday doesn’t have an Instagram or TikTok account because she views “social media to be a soul-sucking void of meaningless affirmation”. Despite this, there are already numerous videos on TikTok of content creators and influencers trying to recreate her striking black dress which she wore to the “Rave’N” dance party in episode four. Each character has their own effortlessly chic style and viewers can easily identify their style in the different characters This just adds to the excitement of the series.
Wednesday, despite being a dark and twisted thriller, also manages to be a comedy. Burton is without a doubt a talent when it comes to directing. He brings his gothic flair and expertise in horror storytelling to give this show a certain something that only he can. The cinematography, set design, and storytelling are all outstanding.
And with a second season recently greenlit, fans will be able to look forward to more of Wednesday’s supernatural adventures.
