The Wonderful Woe of Wednesday Addams

Paula Calleja, Staff Writer

Wednesday is the new Netflix hit of the year. Appropriately released on Wednesday, November 23, the show has climbed its way up to one of the most popular and watched shows of all time. This remake of the classic franchise The Addams Family was taken on as an initiative by director Tim Burton to reinvent Charles Addams’s universe. 

In Wednesday, Jenna Ortega portrays Wednesday Addams throughout Wednesday’s adventures at her new school, Nevermore. During her time at Nevermore, she explores new environments, navigates family relationships and makes new friends, all while staying true to her dark self. 

This new horror comedy is not only boosting Ortega’s career, but also bringing Hispanic representation to The Addams Family for the first time. Ortega comes from a mix of Puerto Rican and Mexican descent, making her the perfect actor for this role. Additionally, she is not the only well-known actor in the show, as the show also features the actor of the film franchise’s Wednesday Addams, Christina Ricci.

Ortega mentioned in a recent interview with Netflix that she has “always” been compared to Ricci’s Wednesday Addams and was “nervous to do this part because she wanted to do [Wednesday’s] character justice.” Nevertheless, Ortega is happy to help bring “an accurate representation of what the real world looks like” and bring Hispanic and Latinx female representation to the industry.

Ainsley Philipps, ‘24, “loves the show”, citing that she “enjoy[s] the new representation with both characters and actors.” Philips also noted what a “fantastic character analysis this show gives us, showing a new side to a childhood character that we didn’t know much about.”

With talented actors and a riveting storyline, Wednesday is an instant hit among fans internationally, capturing success as the reimagining of a classic tale.