The series “Wednesday”: all the details about the remake of “The Addams Family”

Last week, on August 17, Netflix showed the general public the trailer for Wednesday, a new modernized story about the famous Addams Family. The project will be directed by Tim Burton, a master of dark comedies and a big fan of the old Addams. In honor of the release of the video, we will tell you all the details about Burton’s new project, trace the almost century-old history of this gloomy family, and, of course, recall the best films and series in this series.

History of the Addams Family

The Weird Addams Family is one of the most famous and recognizable families in film and television history. It is unlikely that there is at least one person in the world who has never seen films and TV shows with their participation.

But few people know that their story began a very long time ago, back in the 40s of the last century with an American artist-enthusiast named Charles Addams. Charles from childhood was very impressionable and had a weakness for various gloomy images, cemeteries, skeletons, ghosts. Even at school, he showed a great talent for drawing, before graduation he even began to publish in prestigious illustrated magazines. In 1940, he came to The New Yorker with the idea to create a comic book about a strange, creepy family that would fall into ordinary everyday situations. The editor gladly accepted the arrangement, and the author began to draw stories about the family, which he named after himself, the Addams. At first, the family included only Morticia and Larch, that is, the future mother of the family and the butler. The respectable Father Gomez and the Creepy Kids were soon added, and a few years later, all the Addamses were finally there.

The popularity of Addams comics in America simply knew no bounds. Therefore, already in the mid-60s, in the era of the first heyday of mass television, the producers from Filmways Television bought the film rights from Charles. The series received 2 seasons, 64 episodes in total and was released from 1964 to 1966. In fact, that version was not much different from the Addams family that we know now, except for some restraint due to the lack of expensive sets and special effects. The show was played by such prominent performers of his time as Jackie Coogan, the star of Chaplin films, and Ted Cassidy, a popular western actor.

In the 70s, Tom and Jerry creators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera tried to make an animated remake of the series. In it, the Addamses traveled across the United States in their motorhome, and in one episode, the characters even met the Scooby-Doo crew. The cartoon was released from 1973 to 1975.

However, most viewers, especially in Russia, certainly know the Addams from the cult black comedy of 1991. The idea to re-create the Charles Addams comics on the screen came to producer Scott Rudin in the late 80s, and after resolving copyright issues, the project was approved. It was directed by Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black) and starred Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future), Anjelica Huston (Love Story) and Raoul Julia (Kissing the Woman- spider”). The picture became a real hit, two sequels and one sequel series were released for it.

Finally, in 2019, Irish director Greg Tiernan released a full-length cartoon based on the stories of the Addams Family. The characters were voiced by top stars such as Oscar Isaac (Star Wars), Charlize Theron (Devil’s Advocate) and Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things). But despite this, this project did not find much popularity among the audience.

What will the Wednesday series be about?

The fact that Netflix is ​​going to create a series about a strange family became known back in 2020, but the details of the project remained a secret for a long time.

It was immediately announced that Tim Burton himself, the master of copyright, cute, funny, but at the same time very dark films, would direct the new show. For example, the famous melodrama Corpse Bride belongs to his hand. The choice of the lead director in this case, without exaggeration, looks just perfect.

The showrunners will be Miles Millar and Alfreda Gough, who previously worked, for example, on the cult TV series Smallville. According to them, the main task of the new project was, first of all, not to be like any of its predecessors:

“It was very important to us that Wednesday didn’t feel like a remake or a reboot. It should not exist within the framework of what was invented before. This is not an attempt to be a new 90s movie or a 60s show. And most importantly, Tim fully shared our vision.”

As for the plot, as you can tell by the title, the story of the series will develop around the youngest daughter of the family, Wednesday Addams. She studies at the Nevermore Magical Academy and, in her free time, works on the side, solving detective mysteries for her peers with the help of her innate psychic abilities. But one day she has to face a case, the disclosure of which can shed light on the darkest secrets of her family.

Actors of the series “Wednesday”

From the very moment of the announcement, many fans began to wonder who will play the Addams Family, because the stellar cast has always been one of the main features of the successful projects of this franchise. At various times there were rumors that Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp would appear in the series. After the release of the trailer, we can finally get a look at the new Addams, especially since you can find familiar faces among them.

Wednesday Addams will be played by 19-year-old actress Jenna Ortega. She may be known to many viewers from the movie Aftermath, the 2022 remake of Scream, and the TV series Stuck in the Middle. According to Ortega, the role of a gloomy psychic girl was not at all easy for her:

“I myself am older than the canonical image of Wednesday, so I had to balance a lot between the state of a child and a teenager. I’ve never had the opportunity to play an iconic character before. I know that she is very much loved, and I just really did not want to spoil her. ”

Gomez and Morticia will be portrayed by Luis Guzman (Carlito’s Way) and Catherine Zeta-Jones (Mask of Zorro). Whether there will be other Addamses in the series is still unknown.

Also on the show will be Christina Ricci (Sleepy Hollow), Jamie McShane (Bloodline) and Gwendolyn Christie (Game of Thrones).

What do viewers think of the trailer?

The new commercial “Wednesday” was warmly received by the audience.

Almost everyone noted that Jenna Ortega in the title role looks just fine, and her evil smile captivates from the very first frames. Many also liked the fact that the trailer does not spoil the details of the plot, while at the same time it is very pleasing with its atmosphere and dark playful mood. True fans of Tim Burton simply could not help but write that his style and signature style are clearly felt in the series.

So far, the only source of doubt about the quality of Wednesday has been Netflix itself. The service has already launched very good mystical teenage detectives more than once, for example, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. But he maintained the high quality of such shows for no more than one or two seasons, after which the plot rolled very sadly. Whether the remake of The Addams Family will suffer the same fate, we will only know after its release.

Release date of “Wednesday”

At the moment, it is known that the series will consist of 8 episodes. Each of them will last approximately one hour. All episodes are set to release simultaneously on Netflix this fall, but an exact release date has yet to be announced.