Speaking with Golden Globe nominee Elle Fanning during the latest edition of Variety’s Actors on Actors, actress Jenna Ortega opened up about what to expect in Wednesday Season 2.
Ortega confirmed she’s set as a producer for the next installment.
“A character like Wednesday, who is so beloved and such a legend, I just really didn’t want to get her wrong. So I try to have as many conversations as possible,” Ortega shared. “On set, with the writers and Tim [Burton], we all would get together and decide, ‘Okay, what works and what doesn’t?’ It was naturally already very collaborative. So in preparation for a second season, we wanted to get ahead of the curve and make sure that we could start the conversations earlier,” she continued. “And I’m just so curious. I want to see the outfits, new characters that are coming in, scripts, and they were gracious enough to let me put the producer hat on.”
Ortega also revealed that Wednesday won’t have any love interest in Season 2. The follow-up will have a darker tone, similar to older installments.
“We’ve decided we want to lean into the horror aspect of the show a little bit more,” the star said. “Because it is so lighthearted, and a show like this with vampires and werewolves and superpowers, you don’t want to take yourself too seriously. We’re ditching any romantic love interest for Wednesday, which is really great.”
In Season 1, the titular Addams Family character was involved in a love triangle between Hunter Doohan’s Tyler and Percy Hynes White’s Xavier. Ortega wasn’t a fan of the story arc, and thought it was too out-of-character for Wednesday.
Who’s the Cast of Wednesday?
Wednesday is a coming-of-age supernatural comedy starring Jenna Ortega (Yes Day) as the titular lead along with Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams, Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams, Victor Dorobantu as Thing, Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley Addams, and George Burcea as Lurch. It is executive produced and directed by Tim Burton (Beetlejuice, Corpse Bride) in his television directorial debut.
Season 1 also stars Gwendoline Christie, Emma Myers, Hunter Doohan, Joy Sunday, Moosa Mostafa, Georgie Farmer, and Percy Hynes White. It also featured Golden Globe and Emmy nominee Christina Ricci as Marilyn Thornhill. Ricci famously portrayed Wednesday Addams in the early 90s.
“The series charts the titular heroine’s years as a student at the peculiar Nevermore Academy as she attempts to master her emerging psychic ability,” reads the synopsis, “While also thwarting a monstrous killing spree terrorizing the local town and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships of the strange and diverse student body.”
After working together on Wednesday, Ortega is once again collaborating with Burton in the upcoming Beetlejuice sequel, where she’ll play the daughter of Winona Ryder’s Lydia. The highly-anticipated project is currently underway.
