Credit: NetflixLast night (January 15), television and movie star Jenna Ortega spoke about the future of her hit Netflix show, Wednesday, and revealed that the Tim Burton-led series is changing for its sophomore season. Here’s what Wednesday Season 2, the next entry in the Addams Family franchise, will now look like.
Debuting in late 2022, Wednesday became one of Netflix’s biggest hits. Following the release of the show, which is directed by the beloved Tim Burton, Wednesday was the most-watched English-language series during a week, with 341 million hours, surpassing Stranger Things.
Thanks to Burton and its leading actress, Wednesday‘s momentum is not slowing down, with production on a second season underway. In fact, Ortega, who is now a producer for the Netflix series, revealed that major changes were headed to the world of Nevermore Academy, leaving this new season with a seemingly different air from the first.
Speaking to host Laverne Cox during the Live from E!: Emmys show, Jenna Ortega, who was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Wednesday Addams, revealed interesting information about the upcoming Wednesday Season 2.
“I’ve received some scripts for the second season, and we’re definitely leaning into more horror,” the actress told Cox at the Peacock Theater. “It’s really, really exciting because all throughout the show, Wednesday does need a bit of an arc. She never really changes, and that’s the wonderful thing about her.”
This echoes what Ortega told Variety last June, claiming that the second season of the show will “ditch any romantic interest” and be “bolder, more dark.”
Ortega, who recently stepped down from her role in the upcoming Scream 7 (TBD), added that “there are some really good one-liners” and how, because “everything’s bigger” and “more action-packed,” each episode feels “like a movie.” These teased changes to an already popular show seemingly hint at the second season being even more of a win for Netflix than the first.
During the Primetime Emmy Awards, Ortega did not win her award category, which ended up going to Quinta Brunson for her role as Janine Teagues in ABC’s Abbott Elementary. At that same awards show, TV and movie star Pedro Pascal went viral for his censored speech while presenting the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
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Wednesday Season 2 will begin filming in Ireland in April 2024. The scheduling conflict between this and filming the seventh installment in the Scream franchise is reportedly what led to Ortega’s departure from the horror series, even as other sources claimed it was a salary dispute between the actress and Spyglass, the group behind Scream. Her stepping down came after onscreen Scream sister, Melissa Barrera was fired due to comments regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict. More recently, Scream 7 director Christopher Landon also quit the project.
Wednesday stars Jenna Ortega as the eponymous Wednesday Addams, with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán as parents Morticia Addams and Gomez Addams, respectively. Percy Hynes White plays Xavier Thorpe, with Emma Myers as Enid Sinclair, Joy Sunday as Bianca Barclay, Georgie Farmer as Ajax Petropolus, and Naomi J. Ogawa as Yoko Tanaka. Game of Thrones and Star Wars actress Gwendoline Christie and Yellowjackets’ Christina Ricci also star as members of the Nevermore Academy faculty, Principal Larissa Weems, and Marilyn Thornhill/Laurel Gates.
