On November 23, 2022, Netflix released its new comedy horror series, Wednesday. So far, it has received largely positive reviews. It has a stellar cast, with names such as Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzman, and Gwendoline Christie, and starring Jenna Ortega as Wednesday. The show even features Christina Ricci, the actress who played Wednesday in the older Addams Family movies from 1991 and 1993.

As the show’s title suggests, Wednesday follows the dark and mysterious Wednesday Addams as she attends Nevermore Academy. Along the way, she practices her emerging psychic abilities and solves mysteries, all in the midst of a monstrous killing spree.

Nevermore Academy is a school for misfits of all types, from vampires and werewolves to psychics and sirens. The academy is an enormous gothic castle, reminding viewers of the famous Hogwarts from Harry Potter, and it holds many secrets for Wednesday to discover in her spare time. Despite this whimsy, larger-than-life setting, the academy still maintains the feeling of a regular highschool, with student cliques and strong rivalry.

Jenna Ortega plays Wednesday Addams perfectly, while revealing deeper layers to the character that weren’t present in the earlier show and movies. Wednesday shows the character grown up a bit, now a 16 year old with drama of her own. She is a misfit among misfits, and other students at Nevermore Academy often gossip about her family’s sketchy past. Wednesday, full of self-confidence and determination, doesn’t seem to mind, though. She even says in the official trailer that she enjoys it.

The entire show, from the twisted plot to the beautifully dark setting, is from the mind of Tim Burton himself. With so many custom sculptures, a peculiar and macabre atmosphere, and such impressive attention to detail, this is evident. Long-time Tim Burton fans and lovers of Addams Family content are embracing the fresh take on the Addams Family that the show provides, and many viewers are crossing their fingers that Wednesday will get a second season.