Note: This article discusses Netflix’s “Wednesday” Season 1’s climax.
“Wednesday” has surpassed records for the most hours watched in a single week TV show on Netflix, in the history of the streaming service, adding to the list of best Netflix shows so far!
With its debut released just a week ago, the new blockbuster TV program featuring Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams has already racked up an incredible 341.2 million hours of total viewing time.
In a statement confirmed by Netflix, “Being an outcast has never been more IN as Wednesday, the supernatural infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years at Nevermore Academy, debuted in the #1 spot with a record-breaking 341.2M hours viewed.”
In the world of “The Addams Family,” Wednesday Addams has always existed as a child of ten years old. She has a deadpan wit and a love for the murderous and macabre.
This was something that Miles Millar and Alfred Gough, both the producers of the new series “Wednesday” on Netflix, sought to alter with their perspective, which included distancing Wednesday from her family and giving her her own opportunity to shine.
Millar said via Zoom. “She was never the center of the scene.”
Gough and Millar went straight back and forth on what kind of environment Wednesday would live in, while using the images created by Charles Addams, who was the creator of “The Addams Family” in 1938.
“Because of the ‘Harry Potter’ of it all [the question was] should she be at a regular school and then be a fish out of water?” Millar said. “But it felt kind of one-note and she’d always have to return home at night to the family that [we] wanted to get away from.”
It was necessary to take into account Tim Burton’s perspective as well as the fact that he directed four out of the total eight episodes of the series. “We always say the tone of the show is really the Tim Burton tone,” said Gough, which demonstrates in Wednesday’s trademark dark striped wardrobe, compliments of Burton’s long-time costume designer Colleen Atwood, as well as her dark sense of humor.
After all, this is a series that reaches its climax at a high school dance by covering everyone in blood-red paint and pouring it on them. According to Gough, “It all feels very accessible to a large audience while still feeling kind of anti.”
Although Wednesday Addams has a murderous streak, there was some concern about how dark things may become on the program. The producers already knew the narrative would be serious, with Wednesday investigating a murder mystery, but they also understood the character herself would have to be appropriately morbid, which gave Netflix a pause.
Gough added, “Netflix was always very supportive and the executives were huge Addams Family fans.”
However, as Millar highlighted that, there was a willingness to make minor adjustments. “We still did have executives wanting to cut some lines,” he said.
Wednesday’s roommate Enid (Emma Meyers) urges Wednesday to “take a stab at being social,” to which Wednesday answers that she enjoys stabbings. “That’s the whole point of the character,” Millar said. “To lose that or dilute that is a betrayal of the character.”
Fortunately, the lines were retained in the series.
Interestingly, Netflix would be hesitant to use such a statement, particularly given that the series features murder, including the killing of Nevermore Academy’s principal, Larissa Weems (originally Gwendoline Christie).
Both producers stated that they did not want this to be like “Scooby Doo,” and that the characters’ actions had repercussions. In the instance of Weems’ death, the duo understood it had to be significant, and not only because Christie portrayed another popular (and incredibly strong) character in “Game of Thrones,” Brienne of Tarth, and fans would be heartbroken to see her depart.
“Gwendolyn loved it,” Gough said. “She read all eight scripts before she had signed on. You see Gwendolyn in a way you’ve never seen her before. She’s incredibly glamorous and she inhabits that character so well.”
What are your thoughts on Wednesday Addams’ deadly behavior and the producers’ desire to separate her from her family to offer her a new opportunity to shine? Let us know in the comments section below!
Jane Davies
