In October 2020 a new Netflix project was announced on the Addams Family , a TV series totally focused on only one of its components:
the disturbing (but at the same time fascinating) Wednesday , the eldest daughter of Gomez and Morticia Addams .
Tim Burton was announced as director of this new show (called Wednesday ) and immediately the public split into two factions: those who were a little afraid of a modern adaptation on the Addams family and those who couldn’t wait to see it .
Touch a character like Wednesday Addams, entered the collective imagination thanks to the extraordinary interpretation of Christina Ricci in the two famous feature films by director Barry Sonnenfeld ( The Addams Family , The Addams Family 2) , represented an enormous risk for the Netflix platform (especially considering the loss of subscribers in the last period).
After seeing the entire first season in preview, we can anticipate that the operation is perfectly successful. Burton and the writers ( Miles Millar , Alfred Gough ) had a deep respect for the source material of Charles Addams , managing to adapt it admirably to the present day. Wednesday is not a simple teen series as one might think at first, but it presents a well-accurate mythology and probably to be developed over several seasons. Furthermore, the show grows considerably in its eight episodes, raising the bar more and more and reminding the skeptics of one fundamental thing: Tim Burtonhe was the only director capable of doing justice to a character as crazy as that of Wednesday Addams ; so, no longer doubt his abilities! The first episode of the series was previewed at Lucca Comics & Games where Burton himself was present , who (after being greeted with a standing ovation) declared:
“I always felt like Wednesday, especially when I was a kid. My view of the world was black and white, like his. Until now, Wednesday had always been portrayed as a child, but I wanted to see her face school, teachers, or therapy.”
A star is born: Jenna Ortega
To interpret Wednesday in the Netflix series of the same name could not again be the now forty-year-old Christina Ricci and after a careful casting the choice fell on the very young Jenna Ortega , who was entrusted with the arduous task of lending the face to such an iconic and complex. Ortega is not new to the world of horror, she was recently in fact seen at the cinema with the fifth chapter of Screamand will also be present in the sixth, due out next year. Despite all the difficulties of the case, in the eight episodes the actress offers an accurate and above all faithful interpretation of her character. Her icy gaze is perfect for the role of the gothic Wednesday , managing not to show any emotion just as her role requires. In some scenes, however, the humanity of the character is revealed, making Jenna Ortega ‘s skill even more evident . The actress had already demonstrated her talent, but we are ready to bet that thanks to this role, the doors of Hollywood will definitely open up for her.
Overall, the whole cast works and for this we must once again thank Tim Burton , who opted for a Gomez Addams much more similar to the one in the comic: the actor Luis Guzmán ; despite the fears, Catherine Zeta Jones is instead remarkably at ease in the role of Morticia Addams . The real gem, however, is having included Christina Ricci in the cast with the role of Marilyn Thornhill , a professor at Nevermore Academy. A link able to underline again the enormous respect of this new show towards the past (and immortal) version.
The outcasts of society, the true metaphor of the series
In this new series, Wednesday is no longer a child but, as desired by Tim Burton , a teenager marginalized by her classmates due to her character having little affinity for sociability. After defending (in a very particular way) her brother from some bullies, she is sent to study in a new school: the Nevermore Academy, where her parents had been students and where the “outcasts” of the society. Her attention is therefore immediately placed on the diversity of all those enrolled in the institute, shown through a completely supernatural perspective. Wednesday herself has psychic visions of the past and at least at the beginning of the series she is unable to control them, it will only be thanks to her time at Nervermore if she learns to do so.
Consequently, the school will be used as a metaphor to talk about all those people who do not respect the pre-established canons of character or beauty and are, for this reason, placed on the margins of society. At Nevermore the girl will not be alone, as a trusted ally she will have Mano (an essential character in the dynamics of the Addams family ) but also other students such as, for example, her roommate (and werewolf) Enid Sinclair ( Emma Myers ). The latter with her radiance is totally opposite to the gloomy Wednesday , as the episodes go by their relationship will mature a lot becoming one of the nerve centers of the narrative.
A gothic Veronica Mars is ready to conquer you
Wednesday ‘s arrival at the Nevermore coincides with the beginning of numerous murders by a monster and obviously, who better than a girl passionate about death can try her hand at discovering the true identity of the culprit? Wednesday is a series where the mystery genre is perfectly inserted within the narrative, the eager desire to discover the truth will transform the protagonist into a Veronica Mars dressed in black. This will lead her to always be at the center of crime scenes and to have many problems at Nevermore Academy, where she receives numerous callbacks from principal Larissa Weems ( Gwendoline Christie ).
However, all this research will intertwine with another mystery, featuring Wednesday ‘s parents : Gomez and Morticia Addams , their past will in fact be extremely central to the dynamics of the story. The parent-child relationship therefore represents another theme addressed by the series, Wednesday does not want to follow in the footsteps of his parents and especially those of his mother. The relationship between Morticia and Wednesday is extremely fascinating to watch, net of the girl’s thought, the two have much more in common than what one might initially think. And still on the subject of family, it is right to talk about the beautiful alchemy established betweenWednesday and his uncle Fester . The only Addams to really understand the protagonist is precisely the one considered more extravagant, the two almost seem to complement each other when we see them together and will also give life to some of the funniest scenes in the series.
If you’re still wondering, this new version of the Addams Family works and quite a lot. It will be available on Netflix on Wednesday from November 23, 2022, we are ready to bet it will conquer (in a short time) the hearts of the public.
