Credit: NetflixFor season two of Wednesday (2022-present), star Jenna Ortega is stepping up to take on a producing role on the hit show. And with her at the helm, it looks like the Addams Family spinoff will focus more on frights and less on love.
Produced by Tim Burton and created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, Wednesday follows the Addams Family‘s eldest child (Jenna Ortega) after she is sent to the Nevermore Academy, the alma mater of her parents, Morticia Addams (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez Addams (Luis Guzman). While there, she has to survive murderous classmates, a deadly monster on the loose, and the scariest thing of all: teenage love.
The show was a hit, debuting at number one on Netflix and setting the record for most hours viewed in a week with 341.2 million hours watched. It is now considered one of Netflix’s current flagship shows alongside Stranger Things (2016-present), Squid Games (2021-present), and The Witcher (2019-present).
This popularity has prompted fans to ask what is going to happen with Wednesday‘s future seasons. Fortunately, star Jenna Ortega seems to know what’s up.
Jenna Ortega Says ‘Wednesday’ is “Ditching Any Romantic Love Interest”
In a feature with Variety, Jenna Ortega sat down to have a discussion with fellow actress Elle Fanning. The two have had remarkably similar journeys to stardom, including being child stars, leading Disney projects, and becoming producers for the very first time on critically-acclaimed series.
While Fanning is one of the producers on her current show, The Great (2020-present), Ortega is a producer for the upcoming season of Wednesday. And she is excited to take the hit show in a new, darker direction.
“It’s still coming together, but we’ve decided we want to lean into the horror more. We’re ditching any romantic love interest, which is really great. We’re going to get bolder, more dark.”
Related: Netflix’s Hit Series ‘Wednesday’ Brings Back Beetlejuice
While the step up to producer seems like a natural step for any successful actor’s career, Ortega maintains that the career move is about being more collaborative and creating a better product.
“With a character like Wednesday, who is so beloved, I didn’t want to get her wrong. So I tried to have as many conversations as possible with the writers. We’d decide what works and what doesn’t. In preparation for a second season, we wanted to make sure that we could start the conversations earlier. I’m just so curious: I want to see the outfits, new characters, scripts.”
Related: Wednesday Addams Actress Sadly Confirmed Dead
Ortega continued, “Wednesday forced me out of my shell. Being a young woman in the industry, sometimes people don’t take you as seriously. I’ve had insane conversations with people where I stay in my place because I’m just an actor. You become a puppet. But the most beautiful experiences that I’ve had on a job have always been the ones where everyone’s voice is heard. Everyone pitches in.”
All of this seems promising for fans of Wednesday, especially considering that the romantic plots were the weakest parts of the show.
What would you like to see in Wednesday season two? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!