Excellent news for fans of Netflix’s supernatural teen drama Wednesday, as the series has been renewed for Season 2. This is hardly surprising since as soon as the series hit the streaming service, audiences fell in love with the darker, mysterious take on the characters from The Addams Family. The announcement came via a video from Netflix that featured Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) poking fun at the series virality, including her much memed dance.
Centered around teenage daughter Wendesday Addams (Ortega), the series follows her as she is enrolled against her will at Nevermore Academy, her parents’ (Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán) alma mater. She soon finds herself embroiled in local mysteries, and into the strange social hierarchy of the supernatural student body. Because werewolves and sirens or not, high school is always going to be high school.
The eight-episode season managed to maintain the delicate balance of supernatural mystery and high school-typical drama. Wednesday tries to solve a series of strange murders taking place in and around the town of Jericho, where Nevermore is located, as well as learning more about her parents during their time there. But on the flip side, and brilliantly woven into the mystery are things like conflicts with her bright and colorful roommate Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers), boy drama, and fitting in with the crowd versus standing out.
Though the series was more focused on Wednesday than the Addams family as a whole, the actors portraying them were picture perfect, and never left any doubt in the audiences mind that the family truly care for one another, an aspect which is a must in any Addams Family adaptation. Isaac Ordonez made for a very sweet Pugsley Addams. Fred Armisen’s Uncle Fester is delightfully earnest and though he didn’t appear much left a lasting impression with a performance that felt like a mix of Jackie Coogan’s 1960s take and the 1990s cartoon version.
The series also starred Gwendoline Christie as Nevermore headmistress Larissa Weams, Riki Lindhome as therapist Dr. Kinbott, and Hunter Doohan, Percy Hynes White, and Joy Sunday as Wednesday’s peers. It also featured Christina Ricci, who memorably played Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family and The Addams Family Values, as Ms. Thornhill, one of Wednesday’s teachers who becomes a confidante of sorts.
Wednesday Season 1 is streaming on Netflix now. Watch the Season 2 announcement video below: