Jenna Ortega’s Wednesdays are officially booked for another season…
Netflix has ordered a second season of its hit series Wednesday, starring the 20-year-old Mexican and Puerto Rican actress.
From MGM Television, Wednesday crossed the 1B hours viewed mark – only the third show to do that on Netflix – in less than a month and overtook Dahmer to become the second most-watched U.S. show behind season four of Stranger Things.
Wednesday offers a new take on The Addams Family— the classic cartoon strip that was created by Charles Addams which ultimately became a ’60s sitcom and a ’90s feature film.
Wednesday ranks No. 2 on the most popular (English) TV list with 1.237 billion hours viewed within its first 28 days.
What’s most unique about the series is how one of Netflix’s biggest rivals, Amazon, is responsible for the series after it closed a $8.5B deal to buy MGM.
MGM Television has since been restructured into Amazon Studios under Jen Salke.
Wednesday debuted in November. The coming-of-age comedy is from Smallville creators Al Gough and Miles Millar and directed/executive-produced by Tim Burton.
Netflix has revealed the first look at “Wednesday,” the upcoming Addams Family television series starring the famous clan’s daughter, with the 19-year-old Puerto Rican and Mexican American actress and Scream 5 star in the title role.
First created by Charles Addams for a series of New Yorker cartoons, the Addams Family is a bizarre aristocratic clan with an obsession of the macabre and a complete lack of concern regarding how others perceive them.
Following their creation, the characters grew in popularity after a 1964 sitcom fleshed out their personalities, and have since starred in two live-action theatrical films, two animated series, a Broadway musical and two animated films.
The only daughter of parents Gomez and Morticia, Wednesday was depicted in the original sitcom as the most sweet-natured of the family.
However, the 1991 Barry Sonnenfeld-directed film adaptation changed her personality to be much more deadpan and sadistic, with Christina Ricci’s portrayal in the film making her one of the most popular characters in the franchise.
“Wednesday” spins-off the character as she attends a boarding school Nevermore Academy, where she develops psychic powers and investigates a supernatural killing spree connected to her own family’s history.
In addition to Ortega as Wednesday, the rest of the Addams Family will make appearances in the show. Catherine Zeta-Jones is part of the main cast as matriarch Morticia, while Victor Dorobantu plays the disembodied hand servant of the family, Thing. Isaac Ordonez plays Wednesday’s brother Pugsley in a recurring role, while George Burcea plays the family manservant Lurch. Luis Guzmán will guest star in the series as Wednesday’s father Gomez.
The main cast of the show includes Riki Lindhome, Jamie McShane, Percy HynesWhite,Gwendoline Christie, Thora Birch, Hunter Doohan, Joy Sunday, Emma Myers, Georgie Farmer, Naomi Ogawa and Moosa Mostafa. In a nod to the ’90s films, Ricci will also appear in an unconfirmed role.
Al Gough and Miles Millar, the creators of the Superman series Smallville, serve as showrunners and executive producers for the series.
Tim Burton will also executive produce and direct the majority of episodes, with Gandja Monteiro and James Marshall serving as additional directors.
The series is produced by MGM Television for Netflix.
