The Addams Family has been a “spooky” staple for almost a century since its creation in 1938 by cartoonist Charles Addams. Since then four TV shows, two animated movies, four live-action movies, and even a Scooby-Doo special have been dedicated to this “kooky” family (Summers). The latest adaptation comes from the mind of Tim Burton. This new series, Wednesday, contains eight episodes and was released by Netflix on Wednesday, November 23rd of this year.

This new series follows Wednesday Addams, the slightly homicidal daughter of Gomez and Morticia Addams, as she navigates through high school. However, this isn’t a normal school. After an incident at her regular high school, Wednesday is forced to go to Nevermore Academy, a school for outcasts. Viewers are introduced to sirens, werewolves, vampires, shapeshifters, and even a “mysterious” monster on a killing spree. Soon after her arrival, it is made clear that Wednesday has something to do with these attacks, but no one is sure how. Viewers follow her as she attempts to navigate her newfound psychic abilities and solve this mystery with her family sidekick, Thing, the severed hand 

Along with the Addams, one of the new characters featured in the series is Mrs. Thornhill. This character is played by none other than Christina Ricci, the actress who portrayed the “creepy” Wednesday Addams in the 1991 and 1993 films. Mrs. Thornhill is one of the teachers at Nevermore Academy, and is the only one Wednesday seems to trust… or is she?

The new Wednesday is played by Jenna Ortega and she did a lot to prepare for this role. Starting a few months before production she began taking lessons in cello, fencing, archery, boxing, and German. She also began walking differently and learned to do takes in the show without blinking (Neira). When watching the show you can only see her blink a few times. 

This show is a must watch if you enjoy the “all together ooky” world of dark mysteries. With this being the number one show on Netflix, you surely won’t be able to “hyde” from this show.

Neira, Daniel. “How Jenna Ortega Prepared to Play Wednesday: Including Billie Eilish, and Learning German and Archery.” HOLA, HOLA.com, 23 Nov. 2022, https://www.hola.com/us/celebrities/20221123339627/jenna-ortega-preparation-wednesday/. 

Summers, Megan. “The Addams Family: Every TV Show and Movie so Far (in Chronological Order).” ScreenRant, 25 Nov. 2020, https://screenrant.com/addams-family-every-version-tv-series-movie-release-date-order/.