Wednesday Addams series directed by Tim Burton coming to Netflix
Recently, Netflix announced some exciting news if you’re a fan of either Tim Burton or The Addams Family.
And, if you’re a fan of both, then you better hold on to your seats. (Or sit down if you’re standing up so you’ll have a seat to hold on to.)
The streaming network has ordered an eight-episode live-action series called Wednesday that will be directed by Burton, according to a report from Deadline.
Rounding out the production team, Deadline reported that Smallville creators Al Gough and Miles Millarit will write the coming-of-age comedy. There’s still no word yet about any casting, though.
What is Wednesday about?
In this Addams Family spinoff, Wednesday Addams is a student at a school called Nevermore Academy.
According to the report, the series will be a “sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery” at Nevermore Academy. That sounds normal enough. Then, the synopsis gets wild.
Here’s the official synopsis, via Deadline:
"That’s where 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."
How does the series relate to The Addams Family?
Nevermore Academy sounds like a great place to introduce some new characters, but what about some of the iconic ones from the original The Addams Family comic strip and movies? Will we see any of those in the series?
Can you just see Gomez and Morticia, along with Uncle Fester, Cousin Itt, and Lurch, at a parents’ weekend?
Except, if Wednesday is trying to “master her emerging psychic ability,” does that mean Nevermore Academy is a magic or witchcraft kind of school? Then, nobody would probably bat an eye at Wednesday’s creepy clan. They’d probably fit right in.
If that’s true, it’s kind of a bummer, and it’s one thing that gives me pause about this new series. Part of The Addams Family‘s charm was how their unusual ways collided with the “normal” world.
The beloved live-action TV show ran from 1964-66 and starred John Astin as Gomez Addams and Caroline Jones as his wife Morticia Addams. And, it was based on a cartoon created by Charles Addams. The first Addams Family cartoon appeared in The New Yorker in 1938.
In 1991, The Addams Family movie hit the big screen, followed by the sequel, Addams Family Values, in 1993. Both films received Academy Award nominations, and the actors received nominations for awards too. Like Anjelica Houston who was twice nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her role as Morticia. But Raul Julia (Gomez), Christina Ricci (Wednesday), Christopher Lloyd (Fester), and Joan Cusack (Fester’s wife, Debbie Jellinsky, in the sequel) also received various awards nominations, too.
An animated feature-length movie was released in 2019, and a sequel to it is in post-production but is currently listed on IMDB with an Oct. 1, 2021, target release date.
We don’t know a release date for the Wednesday Addams Family spin-off yet, but as soon as we learn more information, you know we’ll share it!