Wednesday: Jenna Ortega to star as Wednesday Addams in new Netflix series

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Netflix's Wednesday Adams live-action series has cast Jenna Ortega (The Babysitter: Killer Queen, Scream, Yes Day) in the title role. The series is a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore Academy. Wednesday's 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.

The comedic coming-of-age tale was given an 8-episode order back in February with Tim Burton attached to direct and executive produce. Al Gough and Miles Millar (Smallville, Into the Badlands) will serve as showrunners, with Steve Stark (Medium, The Event), Andrew Mittman for 1.21 (The Addams Family, Alphas), Kevin Miserocchi (Tee and Charles Addams Foundation), Kayla Alpert (Code Black, Up All Night), Jonathan Glickman for Glickmania (RESPECT, Addams Family 2), and Gail Berman (The Addams Family, Alphas) executive producing as well.

“When we first heard Al Gough and Miles Millar’s pitch for Wednesday we were struck, like an arrow from a crossbow, right in our hearts. They nailed the tone, the spirit, and the characters, but gave us a fresh way into this story,” Teddy Biaselli, Netflix’s Director Original Series said in February, calling Wednesday “the ultimate lone wolf” character. “We then got the call that visionary director and lifelong Addams Family fan Tim Burton wanted to make his television directorial debut with this series. Tim has had a history of telling empowering stories about social outsiders like Edward Scissorhands, Lydia Deitz, and Batman. And now he brings his unique vision to Wednesday and her spooky classmates at Nevermore Academy.”

Created by American cartoonist Charles Addams in 1938, The Addams Family originally included Gomez and Morticia Addams, their children Wednesday and Pugsley, extended family members Uncle Fester, Grandmama, their undead butler Lurch, and Pugsley's pet octopus Aristotle. Sometime later, the characters Thing (a disembodied hand), and Gomez's Cousin It were introduced to fans of the macabre family.

During its storied history, The Addams Family has had several big-screen adaptations, both of the live-action variety as well as animated. It's also had two live-action television series, which remain a mainstay of classic TV to this very day.

For the uninitiated, The Addams Family is a tight-knit family unit that isn't afraid to embrace the darker aspects of their unique lives. They live in a quasi-enchanted manor filled with many dangers, delightful traps, and deranged delicacies that would turn the stomachs of anyone not on their level. While harmless in many regards, the Addams family members are often looked upon as deviants and a nuisance for those who fail to understand their mysterious and spooky way of life.

Jenna Ortega is an American actress whose career is positively booming with high-profile projects. In addition to lending her voice to Netflix's Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, she recently starred opposite Jennifer Garner and Edgar Ramírez in the family comedy Yes Day. Horror fans can catch her in the role of Phoebe for The Babysitter: Killer Queen or in the upcoming installment of Scream, as a character named Tara Carpenter.