I don’t normally watch trailers for TV shows. Since I don’t have cables and since most of my streaming services are ad-free, I don’t have the means to watch them unless they come up in an ad on YouTube or it comes up as something that is trending on Twitter. It’s not like trailers in a movie theater where I have to watch them unless I physically leave the auditorium. Plus, there haven’t been a lot of trailers I’ve seen for a TV show that would change whether or not I was planning on giving it a chance.
Wednesday was the first trailer for a TV I’ve watched in a long time that made me want to watch the show.
Wednesday, created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, tells the story of Nevermore Academy, a haven for outcasts. Its most recent student is Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega), fresh off a recent expulsion from a regular high school. As she gets acclimated to the school and surrounding town, Wednesday gets wrapped up in a mystery that could lead to the downfall of the school. Wednesday is eight episodes and is currently streaming on Netflix.
I hold the 1990s version of The Addams Family in very high regard, in particular when it comes to the cast. It was very important to me with this show that they find someone that could potentially match Christina Ricci’s performance as Wednesday in the two movies from the 90s. Ortega though is in a league of her own though. She brings comedic timing, a deadpan stare to die for, and an outstanding performance. She has great chemistry with other performers and she is dynamic, even though Wednesday doesn’t show a lot of emotion.
As a character, Wednesday is a strong character but might be a little too powerful right off the bat. This isn’t a situation where Wednesday has to learn some of the skills she needs to be successful before putting them into practice. She comes preloaded with skills like fencing, hand-to-hand combat, and mystery-solving chops. I found myself getting frustrated at times with how much Wednesday can do for a high school student. I get it, the Addams family is into a lot of crazy stuff however I don’t understand how Wednesday can do just about everything she needs to have the plot go forward.
Wednesday is chalked full of side characters that make for a marvelous ensemble cast. I have to give credit to the following characters: Enid (Emma Myers), Xavier (Percy Hynes White), Eugene (Moosa Mostafa), and Marilyn (Christina Ricci). I’ll get this out of the way quickly, it’s great to see Ricci’s involvement on Wednesday given her history with the role. Her character is shrouded in mystery, simply because she is a “normie” (normal, non-outcast individual) working at a school for outcasts. Her story becomes clear later in the season to varying results. Regardless, it was great to see Ricci as part of the series and in the middle of a late-career resurgence as of late.
The other three are students at Nevermore. Xavier is a potential ally to Wednesday who draws heavy suspicion for the mystery of the season. He’s an artist whose paintings come to life. The art that is creating is amazing, but he can go toe-to-toe with Wednesday being quippy and sarcastic. I liked him as a character but his involvement in something in the series is bothersome and unnecessary. The real standouts of the season, other than Wednesday are Enid and Eugene. These are two individuals who, by the end of the season, we could consider Wednesday’s friends. Eugene is a beekeeper that Wednesday befriends as a way to cover herself when she needs to go somewhere off campus. She does come to care about him, as he willingly puts himself in harm’s way to help Wednesday in her investigation. He’s an outcast of the outcasts, as he doesn’t have any friends beyond Wednesday. He finds his crew once he becomes friends with Wednesday.
Enid, on the other hand, is the antithesis of Wednesday: sunny, popular, emotional, and happy. She’s Wednesday’s roommate and she struggles with herself as a werewolf. Myers is terrific in the role, as she has a lot of range with the action pieces, love stories, roommate drama, and struggling with her identity. She’s in essence the perfect teenager for a show like this, and Myers is an up-and-coming star in my view. Enid and Wednesday have their fair share of roommate squabbles, but they share a moment at the end of the last episode that made me tear up.
If Enid and Eugene are the standouts of the season, Thing (Victor Dorobantu) is the MVP. Thing has a tough task, emoting when he is only a hand. He manages to show fear, playfulness, anger, and happiness, which is an outstanding feat all by itself. Thing does remind me a little of Doctor Strange’s cloak of levitation or Aladdin’s magic carpet. They’re perfect sidekicks and provide comic relief and emotional relationship moments. Props to Dorobantu for putting on a dynamite performance, as he is the only other Addams other than Wednesday that is in the majority of the season.
The rest of the Addams family doesn’t factor in too much but is used as pieces to help drive the plot forward. This was a genius idea because we don’t expect them to show up every episode to remind us that Wednesday is part of the Addams family. Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez) is why Wednesday ultimately gets expelled from her original school, Gomez (Luis Guzmán) helps Wednesday piece together an event that happened at Nevermore when he was in school. Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) helps Wednesday with skills they both share. Uncle Fester (Fred Armisen) checks up on Wednesday following a tragic accident at the school. All of them are great, and luckily not used too much in a way that would overshadow Wednesday herself.
One character that is generally wasted is Principle Weems (Gwendoline Christie). I don’t know what it is about Christie that makes people think that she doesn’t need to be utilized as much as the story dictates, but this was a wasted opportunity to bring a talented actor into the fray and provide a tad bit of maturity to the proceeding. Perhaps the biggest problem with Wednesday is that it feels a little too much like a high school show at times, filled with drama and silly stories involving the school. Christie could have provided a little grounded drama similar to how Dumbledore did for Harry Potter but is criminally underused again for some reason. The only other character that is oddly used is Goody, a character that is shrouded in secrecy that I can’t talk about much for spoilers.
The dark humor is really funny, while also balancing some much-needed heart as the series goes on.
Stylistically, the series is the perfect blend of gothic and dark.
The directors for the series do a great job of beautifully capturing the town and school, but also getting the most out of the characters too. Special shoutout to Tim Burton, who directed and co-executive produced the show. Burton hasn’t done a television project since 2001, so his involvement is a big deal. It felt like a Tim Burton property at times, which I didn’t have a problem with. This might be the best work he’s done in years so I hope he sticks with television for a little while.
Wednesday is a great freshman series that provides great humor and an engaging mystery that showcases Ortega as a star.
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Yes, it feels a little like a CW show at times with the high school drama, but overall this stands out with its themes of inclusion and offering a diverse and talented young cast. Season one ends with a lot of questions unanswered and sets up a lot at stake in season two (assuming it gets one). This is a recommendation for me and one that I think has the potential to be truly great for Netflix.
Score: 7/10
Contributed by: Mike Hilty
