Netflix is developing a live-action Addams Family TV series based around gloomy daughter Wednesday. Here’s everything you need to know…
The Poster
Netflix officially announced Wednesday back in February, revealing the first plot details along with a first look promo poster, which showcased a silhouetted Wednesday “playing” a violin with a butcher’s knife.
The Cast
JENNA ORTEGA is WEDNESDAY ADDAMS
18-year-old Jenna Ortega has been cast in the title role. Ortega has already collaborated with Netflix on thriller series You and family comedy movie Yes Day. She’s also been seen on Jane the Virgin and will appear in 2022’s Scream reboot.
Ortega is the latest in a long line of Wednesdays, including Lisa Loring (1960s sitcom), Christina Ricci (90s films) and Chloe Grace Moretz (2019 animation).
CATHERINE ZETA-JONES and LUIZ GUZMÁN are MORTICIA and GOMEZ ADDAMS
Catherine Zeta-Jones (The Mask of Zorro) and Luiz Guzmàn (Boogie Nights) have been hired to play Wednesday’s iconic parents, Morticia and Gomez.
Morticia has previously been played by Carolyn Jones (1960s sitcom), Angelica Huston (1990s films) and Charlize Theron (2019 animation). Gomez, meanwhile, has been portrayed by John Astin (60s), Raul Julia (90s) and Oscar Isaac (2019).
At this stage, no other cast members have been announced. It’s unknown whether other familiar family members – such as Uncle Fester, Pugsley and Lurch – will appear in the show or not.
The Crew
TIM BURTON (DIRECTOR)
Burton is such an obvious fit for the Addams aesthetic it’s a surprise he’s never been attached to the franchise before. The gothic-flavored filmmaker, famous for the likes of Edward Scissorhands, A Nightmare Before Christmas and Alice in Wonderland, will be making his TV directorial debut with this series.
ALFRED GOUGH AND MILES MILLAR (SHOWRUNNERS)
With Burton behind the camera, writing duo Alfred Gough and Miles Millar are serving as showrunners and executive producers. Gough and Millar are most known for creating Superman prequel Smallville and co-writing Spider-Man 2. So it’s no surprise, given those credits, that the pair have reimagined Wednesday as a superpowered teen…
The Premise
Typically, the Addams are just goths and, outside of an occult flavor and the occasional bit of magic performed by Grandmama, they don’t actually have any supernatural powers. That’s not the case in Wednesday, however, in which the teen will be struggling to deal with psychic abilities as she’s sent to a boarding school called Nevermore Academy. Here’s the official synopsis for the series:
“Wednesday follows Wednesday Addams’ misadventures as a student at Nevermore Academy: a very unique boarding school snuggled in deepest New England. She attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town, and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships at Nevermore.”
Clearly, Netflix is about to serve up a version of the Addams that’s totally different from anything we’ve seen before.
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