‘Wednesday’ Review: The Girlboss-ification of our Favorite Addams

Creepy, kooky, mysterious, and spooky, Tim Burton’s eight-episode Netflix series “Wednesday” revels in the beloved weirdness of the Addams family’s only daughter. Released on Wednesday, Nov. 23, each wild and unpredictable moment is steeped in Burton’s signature style. Yet, the series’ true success lies with the jaunty, offbeat coming-of-age story that rises from the chaos.

Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday is a cello-playing, novel-writing, sword-fighting, monster-hunting heroine who lives up to the fan-favorite character’s 84-year legacy. Joined by Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán as Morticia and Gomez Addams, Wednesday’s wacky yet sincere parents, Ortega delivers a convincing performance chock-full of teenage angst and macabre spunk.

The series begins after Wednesday’s latest high school expulsion as she is shipped off to Nevermore Academy, the same magical boarding school her parents attended. Nevermore is home to “outcasts,” a vague term that applies to students with a range of supernatural abilities from werewolves to sirens, vampires to witches, and seemingly everything in between.

A cross between Hogwarts and Harvard, Nevermore boasts a yearly tournament held in honor of alumnus Edgar Allan Poe, a secret underground library, and a courtyard affectionately referred to as “the Quad.” A true self-insert for any Harvard first-year, Wednesday is soon forced to adjust to her outgoing roommate, navigate potential love interests, explore her mother’s former elite social club, and save her school from a zombie pilgrim dead set on revenge. (Just to be safe, let’s avoid reciting curses in front of the John Harvard statue for a while.)

As the season progresses and a series of mysterious disappearances perplex Nevermore’s Principal Weems (Gwendoline Christie), Wednesday discerns that something sinister is afoot. Among her growing list of suspects are classmates, local townspeople, and a Nevermore teacher, played by Christina Ricci. Of course, Addams devotees will instantly recognize Ricci as Wednesday from the 1991 film franchise.

But fear not, the series’ spooky references do not stop at this cameo. Thing, a disembodied hand with a surprising sense of sarcasm, is Watson to Wednesday’s Sherlock Holmes throughout the season. Appearances by Uncle Fester, Lurch the butler, and the infamous Addams’ family “double snap” also pay homage to the canon of previous adaptations.

Admittedly, an October release date would have been more fitting for the show, which feels slightly out of place now that spooky season has passed us by. Perhaps audiences searching for Halloween content would be more forgiving of the show’s slightly awkward attempt to capture Gen Z teen lingo and its overly campy side-plots. But the few misfire lines and somewhat contrived melodrama never manage to outshine the show’s indulgently gothic atmosphere.

After all, the dynamic duo of visionary director Tim Burton and musical genius Danny Elfman is simply unmatched. “Wednesday” joins the legacy of such iconic collaborations as “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Edward Scissorhands,” and “Beetlejuice,” and succeeds in capturing a similar synergy of chilling score and deliciously eerie, darkly imaginative visuals.

Undaunted by his previous works, Elfman not only delivers a memorable organ-driven opening theme song, but also composes the playfully gloomy backdrop for the entire season. In one standout musical moment, Wednesday climbs onto the roof of her dormitory, cello in hand, and performs Elfman’s gothic orchestral rendition of The Rolling Stones’s “Paint It, Black.”

Yet another highlight is the series’ costumes, which put an original spin on Wednesday’s monochromatic color palette. Styling platform boots, pinstriped blouses, and even an extravagant black lace dress for episode four’s “Carrie”-esque school formal, Academy Award winning costume designer Colleen Atwood (of “Sweeney Todd” and “Sleepy Hollow” fame) teams up with Burton once again to curate an eclectic collection perfectly suited to Wednesday’s quirky style.

In the end, it is Wednesday’s character development that brings the show to a strangely heart-warming conclusion. Strengthening her relationship with Morticia, and exhibiting fierce loyalty to her newfound friends, Wednesday emerges utterly transformed — without losing any of her penchant for medieval torture, of course.

With hints of a second season lurking throughout the final scenes, Burton’s newest work will certainly thrill established fans. And for those who have yet to pay a call on the strange and deranged Addams Family, “Wednesday” is the perfect series to make their acquaintance.