If you’re a fan of the gothic Tim Burton aesthetic, prepare thyself for a real treat. The master of the weird and wonderful is bringing your favourite spooky squad, the Addams family, back to television screens with upcoming series Wednesday. And get this; it actually releases on a Wednesday.
Excitement is building around this project because, well… who doesn’t love the Addams? And the pairing of Burton, a killer cast, and a pretty notable return of a nostalgic face is all but a guarantee people are going to get a lot of joy out of this gloomy production.
Here’s what you need to know before watching.
What is the Wednesday series about?
Unique from the Addams family films that precede it, Wednesday is a TV series that zooms in on the world of the fabulously sullen daughter of Gomez and Morticia Addams. The basic premise is that the show will focus on Wednesday’s twisted school experience at Nevermore Academy.
The show’s synopsis reads as follows:
Follows Wednesday Addams’ years as a student, when she attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart and solve the mystery that embroiled her parents.
Like the Addams family movies before it, Wednesday is inspired by the work of cartoonist Charles Addams.
What time on Wednesday can you watch Wednesday in Australia?
The day (Wednesday) has arrived and it is time for us to sit in front of our collective screens and binge.
Wednesday arrives on Netflix on November 23. Get excited!
If you’re looking for the exact times you can tune in, here’s a breakdown of all those conflicting time zones.
It’s #Wednesday!! pic.twitter.com/UTGIor9lFF
— Netflix ANZ (@NetflixANZ) November 23, 2022
You can also find The Addams Family streaming on Paramount+, The Addams Family Values on Stan, Netflix, Prime Video and Binge, The Addams Family animated film on Prime Video, and Addams Family (the 1964 series) on Apple TV+.
If you want more spooky content, check out this list of the best horror films on Netflix.
Wednesday series cast and crew
Perhaps the most exciting part of this new Addams family series is the cast and crew announcements; it’s quite the list. As we’ve mentioned, Tim Burton (Batman, Beetlejuice) is directing. Alfred Gough and Miles Millar are co-creators and writers for the series.
In terms of cast, there are some new faces and some familiar, so let’s go through the biggest news here.
Is there a new Addams Family?
Yes! There have been a number of iterations of the Addams family over the years, but probably the most beloved are ’90s films The Addams Family and The Addams Family Values. These classics starred Anjelica Huston (Morticia), Raul Julia (Gomez), Christina Ricci (Wednesday), Christopher Lloyd (Fester), and Jimmy Workman (Pugsley).
Wednesday has a new family to introduce us to, with Catherine Zeta-Jones taking the role of Morticia Addams, Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams, and Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley.
Gwendoline Christie also joins the cast as Larissa Weems.
What’s got me most giddy, however, is that Christina Ricci has been listed as a cast member for the new series (all 8 episodes, too).
Who will play Wednesday Addams?
Taking the baton from Ricci, the delightful (soon to be unsmiling and vicious) Jenna Ortega of Scream and You has been cast in the role of Wednesday.
Who is playing Fester?
One of the biggest questions surrounding the new series is the casting of Uncle Fester. Formerly played by Christopher Lloyd, fans of the story are keen to know who will be taking on the iconic role.
The secret actor playing Fester was revealed at New York Comic-Con to be famed Saturday Night Live star, Fred Armisen.
Can we see a trailer?
Netflix dropped a teaser for the upcoming Wednesday series on August 18. It’s creepy, dark and a good laugh; all the things you’d want from the family Addams. Watch it below.
A full trailer was released at the Netflix series’ New York Comic-Con panel and gives us a good look at the Addams fam as well as Christina Ricci’s new character, Miss Thornhill.
Is the show worth my time?
If you’re wondering how good Tim Burton’s Wednesday series will be, we have some initial critic scores to give us an indication. Looking at Rotten Tomatoes, the show is sitting at an average rating of 65 per cent right now. We will update this as more reviews roll out.
The AV Club slammed the series in their review saying “Over the course of eight listless episodes, Wednesday investigates grisly deaths perpetrated by a bug-eyed (and badly CGIed) monster. Along the way, she gets caught up in a love triangle, makes friends, and thaws the ice around her black heart. We don’t know about you, but the very last thing we want to see Wednesday Addams become is an emotionally enlightened do-gooder; we come to this character for po-faced one-liners and casual sadism.”
Collider had some more positive things to say, writing: “Ultimately, despite being a darker-than-usual take on The Addams Family, Wednesday retains all the hallmarks that make the stories and the characters special. It succeeds very well at pushing the story outside its usual genre and into something a little more grown-up, and a little more supernatural, but never loses sight of the heart, humour, and kooky horror that have kept us all double-snapping for decades.”
Guess we’ll have to form our own opinions come November 23.
This article has been updated since its original publish date.
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