15
Credit: NetflixWednesday has been one of the biggest shows that Netflix has ever created, with the series garnering hundreds of millions of watching minutes within days of the show’s debut. While the show is on track to be the most successful English-speaking show on the platform, it has hit quite a few roadblocks as of late, which has fans wondering if a second season of the Tim Burton series will ever come to fruition.
Wednesday made its debut on Netflix on November 23, 2022, quickly becoming a massive success and breaking ratings records for the streaming platform. The series claimed the title of the most-watched show, surpassing even the popular Stranger Things.
After initially setting a record with 341.2 million hours streamed during its first week, Wednesday’s viewership from November 28 to December 4 surged beyond that figure, reaching an impressive 411.29 million hours viewed globally.
This accomplishment not only exceeded the show’s own record set just a week after its debut but also positioned Wednesday as the only English-language series to accumulate over 400 million hours of viewership within a single week.
For those unfamiliar with the first season, the storyline begins with Wednesday Addams (portrayed by Jenna Ortega) seeking retribution against bullies who targeted her brother Pugsley (played by Isaac Ordonez). This leads to her facing expulsion from high school, prompting her parents Morticia (depicted by Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (played by Luis Guzmán) to enroll her in Nevermore Academy, a boarding school designed for misfits, where they themselves had met years before.
Initially determined to escape at the earliest opportunity, Wednesday’s perspective shifts over time as she discovers compelling reasons to stay. Wednesday is a coming-of-age horror comedy with a unique twist on teenagers navigating life away from their parents. The series explores themes of love and friendship for the first time, all set against the backdrop of a supernatural world.
Now that the strike is over, many were expecting to see Netflix return to production, especially since Ted Sarandos (Netflix CEO) reported that Wednesday was a top priority show, and yet, was not listed as one of the productions to return to filming once it was allowed.
Recently, the show has been making headlines for reasons that are less than ideal.
Thora Birch, who is known for her work in Hocus Pocus, was initially meant to be in the show. Birch even shot a majority of the scenes that she was meant to star in, which was alongside Ortega as Wednesday’s dorm attendant/supervisor. First, it was stated that Birch left the show prematurely due to family issues that caused the star to go home immediately.
It was later revealed that there were also creative differences on set, which catered to Birch’s departure. Birch was never recast, nor are her scenes included in the show.
Birch was not even the first actor to leave the series, but she was the first to quit.
Percy Hynes White, who played the role of Xavier Thorpe in Wednesday, was let go from the series. In the show, Xavier is a bruiting artist in whom Wednesday assumes is the villain of the season. We later learn that he was not, and that his goal was to protect Wednesday. The two have very similar eerie personalities, and with the couple exchanging numbers at the conclusion of season one, it seemed the writers were setting up the start of a love storyline between the two.
White was very widely accepted and loved by fans, which is why it was a shock to hear Netflix was removing him from the show.
Allegations surfaced that White was over-serving women at a party, which he has denied heavily.
Variety published his statement, “Earlier this year, somebody I’ve never met started a campaign of misinformation about me online. Because of this, my family has been doxxed, and my friends have received death threats. Underage photos of me were used, and examples of me acting in character were presented as hateful. My friend Jane was falsely portrayed as a victim, and her attempts to set the record straight have been ignored. She gave me permission to include her in this message.”
The statement continued, “The rumors are false. I can’t accept the portrayal of me as someone bigoted, or criminally negligent of people’s safety. These are the kind of baseless, harmful claims that can create mistrust toward victims. It’s very distressing to know that this misinformation has upset people. I’m really thankful for everyone who’s stood by me and helped share the facts. Harassment of my family, friends and coworkers needs to stop please. Thank you for taking the time to read this.”
The publication also shared the initial allegation, which has since been deleted from Twitter, which wrote, “He would pursue, have sex with, abuse and get my friend high who was 13/14 at the time. Last time I knew they had sex she was 16, and he was 20. He assaulted me at one of those parties awhile I was too drunk, and he had cornered and pressured and assaulted multiple of my friends.”
While Percy was never actually guilty, Netflix removed him anyway.
But, did the streaming platform make a mistake?
It seems that Netflix is the only company who looked at Percy Hynes White as a lost cause, as the actor has already booked another project where he will re-enter the world of high school in a new horror flick titled Whistle.
Deadline confirmed the news, “The Nun and Gangs Of London director Corin Hardy is set to direct the high school horror movie Whistle, which Black Bear will be selling at AFM after soft-launching the project at TIFF. Starring will be Dafne Keen (Logan), Sophie Nélisse (Yellowjackets), Sky Yang (Rebel Moon), Percy Hynes White (Wednesday) and Nick Frost (Fighting With My Family).”
The plot of the film is as follows:
“In Whistle, a misfit group of unwitting high school students stumble upon a cursed object, an ancient Aztec Death Whistle. They discover that blowing the whistle and the terrifying sound it emits will summon their future deaths to hunt them down. As the body count rises, the friends investigate the origins of the deadly artifact in a desperate effort to stop the horrifying chain of events that they have set in motion.”
This new haunting mythology will still have the grim tone that we have seen White thrive in with Wednesday, and his acceptance by other studios shows that the actor’s allegations were just that, and certainly not a fireable offence in their eyes.
Season 2 of Wednesday has little information released at this point. Right now, Ortega and Burton are working on Beetlejuice 2, and with the series not in production, its 2024 release may get delayed.
Do you think Netflix made a mistake by firing Percy Hynes White from Wednesday?