Wednesday

Plot Summary: Wednesday Addams is expelled from her high school and is enrolled at Nevermore Academy, a school for outcasts. Her parents attended Nevermore Academy. They are worried that she will make trouble or try and run away from the school. The head of the school, Principal Weems, follows Wednesday to keep her from running away. On her first attempt at escaping, she meets a boy who works at a coffee shop who tries to help her escape, but they are unsuccessful. Wednesday has visions about bad things happening around the school. She witnesses a monster kill a fellow student in the first episode. This event sets up the rest of the season as Wednesday begins investigating his murder and other strange happenings around the school. Despite her reluctance to make friends, she is helped by other teens who attend Nevermore. Will they be successful in finding the monster, solving the murders, and saving Nevermore?

 Creator/Writer Background: Wednesday was created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. Alfred Gough and Miles Millar worked together as writers on the TV series Smallville and on movies such as Shanghai Noon and Spiderman 2 (IMDb, n.d-a & IMDb, n.d.-b).

Critical Evaluation: Wednesday has one of the highest streaming hours of any show released by Netflix. There's a reason for this. As several reviewers on IMDb (n.d.-c) suggest, and I wholeheartedly agree, Jenna Ortega does a magnificent job portraying the main character. Her deadpan delivery of dialogue and dark humor are amazing. This show is not a comedy in the normal sense of the word. However, the dark humor and wordplay made me laugh. I enjoyed that much more than a pure sitcom. The contrast between Wednesday and her extroverted roommate, Enid, is very fun to watch. The show, since it is from Wednesday's teen perspective, involves commentary on social issues that help give the show a modern feel. 

Having Tim Burton help direct the series was a great idea considering his many years in the industry doing similar projects. For those who know his work, his touch is evident at several parts of the episodes. I feel the same about Danny Elfman's score for the series. His music in this series, as it is in other films, is beautiful, powerful, haunting, and a little creepy all at once.

There are parts of the show that harken back to earlier iterations of the Addams Family mythos. These are, for the most part, not major story lines but include one off lines and actions that show that the series knows where it came from. The inclusion of Christina Ricci, who played Wednesday in 1993's Addams Family Values, in a recurring role is a major nod in that direction.

Speed-Round Book Talk or Short Book Trailer: Do you ever feel like you don't belong and need a bingeworthy show that makes you feel understood? Do you like when horror and humor combine? Then turn to Jenna Ortega and the cast of Wednesday! 

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation: On a surface level, there was some swearing and darker humor. Although the violence isn't especially graphic, several characters are killed throughout the show. None of these should overshadow the greater themes of friendship and inclusion of othered individuals that run through the show.

Reason for Inclusion: My first thought was that I enjoy the darker overtones, especially the dark humor. I find it much more entertaining than sitcom or silly slapstick humor any day. Teens are at an age where they are beginning to understand deeper types of comedy. However, that may not be enough to add it to a curated list of YA materials. The themes of friendship and inclusion mentioned throughout this entry are essential for teens to grasp. Wednesday can help teens see themselves and others not like them in a new light.

Resources

IMDb. (n.d.-a). Alfred Gough. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0332184/?ref_=tt_ov_wr.

IMDb. (n.d.-b). Miles Millar. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0587692/?ref_=tt_ov_wr. 

IMDb. (n.d.-c). Wednesday-user reviews. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13443470/reviews/?ref_=tt_ql_urv . 

Netflix. (2022, November 25). Wednesday Addams/Dance Scene. [YouTube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NakTu_VZxJ0 

Wednesday. (2023, February 20). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wednesday_(TV_series).