After becoming roommates at Nevermore Academy, the two characters Enid Sinclair(left) and Wednesday Addams(right), played by Emma Myers and Jenna Ortega respectively, come together to solve a murder mystery despite their apparent differences. photo by @littlegothichorrors
Inspired by the original movie “The Addams Family”, the new Netflix series “Wednesday” was released to viewers late November with a successful and impressive 341.23 million hours for opening week. In comparison, the popular season four of “Stranger Things” raked in 335 million hours allowing “Wednesday” to break the record for the highest viewership in the first week in the English language.
Director Tim Burton, known for his work in “Beetlejuice”, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Alice in Wonderland”, had the opportunity to be involved as executive producer and director of four out of the eight episodes.
Starring Jenna Ortega as Wednesday, the hit show encompasses the original theme of “The Addams Family” with dark humor and mysterious monsters. While unable to find a school that can handle her troublemaking, Wednesday lands at Nevermore, a school that welcomes everybody, including werewolves, sirens, vampires and psychics. Not only does she find a new friendship with her polar opposite, a girl named Enid full of color and positivity, but she also uncovers new mysteries worth solving and people in need of saving.
One factor that has contributed to the show’s success is a viral dance in episode four of the series, “Woe What a Night”. A scene in the episode places Wednesday in the center of Nevermore’s annual Rave’N Dance where she performs her own dance that would later on become a TikTok trend to the song “Bloody Mary” by Lady Gaga. Ortega has previously mentioned in multiple interviews that she choreographed it herself and received praise from Burton for it even though it was outside of her comfort zone.
Another obstacle stood in Ortega’s path while filming the dance scenes: COVID-19. After waking up to body aches and a sore throat, the actress still recorded her part while waiting for the positive test result. Although she asked to redo the shoot, the production team, MGM Studios, stated that there was not enough time. Once they were faced with backlash from social media, MGM Studios eventually released a statement saying strict protocols were followed and that Ortega was removed from the set after her positive test was confirmed.
While the first record-breaking season of “Wednesday” has already created an impact, a second season is already rumored to be in the works, and clues within the show suggest even more to the story.