Wednesday Season 2 won’t be coming to Netflix any time earlier than 2025 (at the very least), and in the meantime, the franchise has decided to begin the retcon process on Season 1.
Netflix is eager to replace its blockbuster supernatural series Stranger Things with an equally big hit and Wednesday seems to be the favorite to fit into its slot.
The latter series is (very) loosely based on the Addams Family cartoons by Charles Addams, which initially appeared in The New Yorker and has since exploded into a massive multimedia franchise that includes multiple live-action and animated films, television shows, video games, a stage musical, and a pretty good pinball machine.
Related: ‘Wednesday’ Star Jenna Ortega Finally Addresses Johnny Depp Rumors
Now that the Addams Family also includes a streaming TV series focused on daughter Wednesday Addams (portrayed by Jenna Ortega), it will also include a novelization of Wednesday Season 1 that will give new details and backstory, essentially retconning elements of the first batch of episodes.
Target has released Wednesday: A Novelization of Season One by author Tehlor Kay Mejia as a special offer that will include a store-exclusive collectible poster.
While the book will be available at other retailers and online stores, Target has made a particular effort to provide exclusive editions of pop culture items (like albums and movies) specifically appealing to younger audiences, like the Addams Family show’s fanbase.
Penguin Random House officially describes the novelization of the season:
Return to the hallowed halls of Nevermore Academy with Wednesday Addams in this delightfully dark novelization of season one of the hit show, Wednesday!
Wednesday is a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ time as a student at Nevermore Academy. Follow along with her as she attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships at Nevermore Academy. Relive the excitement and intrigue in this amazing novelization of the phenomenal first season.
Wednesday Season 1 starred Jenna Ortega, Gwendoline Christie, Riki Lindhome, Jamie McShane, Percy Hynes White, Emma Myers, Joy Sunday, Georgie Farmer, and Christina Ricci, as well as appearances by Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzman, and Fred Armisen as various Addamses. It was executive-produced by Tim Burton, who also directed several episodes.
Related: Nickelodeon Star Steps In as Netflix “Re-Casts” Jenna Ortega in ‘Wednesday’ Post 2024 Cancelation
The series was created by increasingly frequent Burton collaborators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar and won four Primetime Emmy Awards and was nominated for two others. It was also the second-most watched English-language Netflix series after Stranger Things (though still trailing Squid Game by a significant margin).
In other words, Wednesday Season 1 was pretty gosh-darn popular, and fans are eager for more episodes. There is currently no release date for Season 2, which is expected to drop in September 2025 after months of delays due to various production issues, cast firings, COVID-19 delays, and industry strikes.
This new novelization of Season 1 will apparently include details that the original episodes didn’t get around to revealing. It feels quite probable that Season 2 will be taking advantage of cross-platform tie-ins like this to both keep audiences interested and build new plot points. Maybe sometimes retcons aren’t so bad.
Can Wednesday take Stranger Things‘ place as the new Netflix flagship series?